Gift 


the  Library 
C  U.  \Alalkev~ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


Gilt   of 
Redlands  University 


1899 


The     Autobiography     of 
DWIGHT   L.    MOODY 

|OME  day  you  will  read  in 
the  papers  that  D.  L.  Moody, 
of  East  Northfield,  is  dead. 
Don't  you  believe  a  word  of  it !  At 
that  moment  I  shall  be  more  alive 
than  I  am  now,  I  shall  have  gone  up 
higher,  that  is  all;  out  of  this  old  clay 
tenement  into  a  house  that  is  immor- 
tal—a body  that  death  cannot  touch  ; 
that  sin  cannot  taint ;  a  body  fash- 
ioned like  unto  His  glorious  body. 
I  was  born  of  the  flesh  in  1837. 
I  was  born  of  the  Spirit  in  1856. 
That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
may  die.  That  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit  will  live  forever. 


Sbe 
%ife 
of... 


Ube 
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Hutborfsefc 
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1bis  Son 


Milliam 


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from  ©riginat  ipbotograpbs, 
mang  of  wbfcb  being  tbc 
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3Famils,werc  reserves  solelg 
for  tbis  volume  ^  Jt  <*  <£ 


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1900 


COPYRIGHT,     1900,     BY 

FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


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Introduction 

THE  preparation  of  my  Father's  biography  has  been  under- 
taken as  a  sacred  trust.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1894  he  was 
asked  by  an  old  friend  for  permission  to  issue  a  biography 
with  his  approval.  This  my  Father  declined  to  do,  and,  on  that 
occasion,  expressed  the  wish  that  I  should  assume  the  task  when  his 
life-work  was  ended.  In  reply  to  my  objection  that  such  an  under- 
taking demanded  a  literary  experience  that  I  did  not  possess,  he  said : 
"  I  don't  care  anything  about  that.  What  I  want  is  that  you  should 
correct  inaccuracies  and  misstatements  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
straighten  out  during  my  life.  You  are  the  one  to  do  this.  All  my 
friends  will  unite  on  you  and  give  you  their  assistance.  There  are 
many  who  think  they  know  me  better  than  any  one  else,  and  would 
feel  themselves  best  able  to  interpret  my  life.  If  you  do  not  do  this 
work  there  will  be  many  inaccurate  and  conflicting  '  Lives.'  " 

Whatever  diffidence  I  have  felt  in  executing  this  trust,  it  has  been 
undertaken  as  a  filial  duty  and  esteemed  to  be  a  great  privilege.  It 
would  have  been  my  choice  to  have  had  more  leisure  for  accomplishing 
the  work,  but  the  announcement  of  unauthorized  biographies  has 
necessitated  the  immediate  publication  of  the  present  volume.  Other- 
wise the  desire  of  my  Father  would  have  been  thwarted.  At  a  later 
date  it  is  intended  that  a  more  studied  interpretation  of  his  life  should 
be  prepared  to  meet  the  expressed  desire  for  a  fuller  account  of  hia 
career. 


Introduction 

I  would  gratefully  acknowledge  the  kindness  of  many  friends  who 
have  contributed  important  data  and  incidents.  Special  acknowledg- 
ment is  also  due  to  Rev.  John  Bancroft  Devins,  of  "  The  New  York 
Observer,"  whose  valuable  assistance  has  greatly  facilitated  the  early 
completion  of  the  work. 

Father  lived  solely  for  the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  his  family  that  in 
this  record  of  his  career  his  life's  purpose  may  be  conserved. 

WILLIAM  R.  MOODY. 
EAST  NORTHFIELD,  MASS.,  April  10,  1900. 


Table   of  Contents 


CHAPTER  I 
EARLY   LIFE 

PAGE 

Puritan  ancestry — Moody  and  Holton  families — Two  hundred  years  in  Northfield — 
Parentage — Early  death  of  father — Struggle  of  widowhood — Young  Sunday- 
school  missionaries — Trust  in  God — Home  discipline 17 

CHAPTER  II 
LEAVING   HOME 

A  child's  adventurous  journey — Love  of  fun — In  the  country  schoolhouse — The  pleasure 
worth  the  whipping — Ruling  by  love — A  young  horse-trader — A  bright  cent  for 
the  new  boy — Ambition  for  larger  sphere — Going  to  Boston — Disappointment — 
Behind  the  counter — Boyish  pranks 28 

CHAPTER  III 
CONVERSION 

Church  attendance — Influence  of  a  Sunday-school  teacher — Personal  effort — A  blessing 
in  return — Admission  to  church  membership  deferred — Received  later — Business 
and  Christianity .39 

CHAPTER  IV 
IN  BUSINESS  IN  CHICAGO 

Attraction  of  the  new  West — First  experiences  in  the  enterprising  city — Revival  times — 

As  a  commercial  traveller — Business  success        .......      46 

CHAPTER  V 
FIRST  ATTEMPTS  AT  CHRISTIAN  WORK 

A  recruiting  officer  for  a  mission  Sunday-school — The  "North  Market"  Mission — 
Among  the  hoodlums — Busy  Sundays — Novel  methods — Muscular  Christianity — 
Visit  of  Abraham  Lincoln — Interesting  sketch  of  extending  influence — Unappre- 
ciated enthusiasm  .  .  . 55 

CHAPTER  VI 
GIVING  UP  BUSINESS 

A  large  trust — Putting  new  life  into  a  dead  prayer-meeting — A  struggle  and  a  decision — 
The  turning  point — A  class  won  for  Christ — Increasing  zeal — Into  the  highways 
and  hedges — Praying  with  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop — Abrupt  methods  .  .  62 


Table  of  Contents 
CHAPTER  VII 

CITY   MISSIONARY  WORK 

PAGE 

Varied  occupations— Small  beginnings—"  Crazy  Moody  "—Among  the  waifs— Inspira- 
tion from  Bible  characters— New  method  of  preaching— A  friend's  testimony  .  73 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION 

Outbreak  of  the  War— Mission  boys  off  for  the  War— Quaker  principles— In  Camp 
Douglas — Among  Confederate  prisoners — Work  at  the  front — In  the  hospital — 
Messages  from  the  dying — The  text  that  brought  life — A  personal  experience — 
Major  Whittle— General  Howard— The  Spanish  War— Message  to  the  churches 
— The  new  Christian  Commission  .  81 

CHAPTER   IX 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL  CONVENTION  WORK 

Sunday-school    methods — Widening    influence — A   novel    prayer-meeting — Numerous 
•    calls — A  discouraged  church — The  tide  turned — To  carry  the  county  for  Christ 
— Uniform  lessons — National  Convention 97 

CHAPTER  X 
'  EARLY    EVANGELISTIC   EFFORTS 

The  growth  of  the  "North  Market  Hall  "—Organizing  a  union  church— Extended 
activities — Faith  in  early  conversions — "Then  you  must  be  D.  L.  Moody" — 
Resenting  an  insult— Heartfelt  confession— Prayer  in  a  billiard  hall— How  to 
reach  the  poor— Ever  ready  to  learn IO7 

CHAPTER  XI 
CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION   WORK 

An  enthusiastic  worker— NOOH  prayer-meetings— First  permanent  Association  building 
in  America— Farwell  Hall  burned— Rising  from  the  ashes—"  The  lightning 
Christian  "—Raising  funds  for  Association  work— Impressing  others  into  service 
— Evangelistic  effort — Open-air  preaching  4  IT- 

CHAPTER  XII 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  CONVENTIONS 
Meeting  of  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey— Their  first  joint  service— A  week  together 

In  CMcago—A  permanent  engagement— Association  hints— Dealing  with  tramps    125 


Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  XIII 
FIRST  VISIT  TO  GREAT   BRITAIN 

PAGE 

Anxious  to  study  English  methods  of  work — First  address  in  London — Startling  un- 
conventionality — Starting  the  London  noon  prayer-meeting — Visit  to  Bristol — 
"  Wholly  consecrated" — "  I  will  try  to  be  that  man" — "  I  was  there" — Warm 
friends  won 131 

CHAPTER  XIV 

INFLUENCE   OF   HENRY   MOOREHOUSE 

A  new  epoch — The  boy  preacher — John,  iii.  16 — One  text  for  a  full  week — The  man  of 

one  book — A  strong  friendship 137 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE   CHICAGO   FIRE   AND   ITS   RESULTS 

Bible  characters — The  life  of  Christ — A  question  left  unanswered — A  new  resolve — 
Thirst  for  spiritual  power — Chicago  in  ruins — A  humorous  incident — A  struggle 
with  the  elements — Love  wins — Among  the  ruins — Rebuilding — A  sacred  ex- 
perience— Induement  of  power — Letter  to  the  church 144 

CHAPTER  XVI 
FIRST   EXTENDED   MISSION   IN   GREAT   BRITAIN 

A  preliminary  visit — A  wonderful  experience  in  London — Prayer  answered — Home 
again — Urgent  invitations  to  work  in  England — Left  Chicago  with  Mr.  Sankey 
— A  time  of  testing — Arrival  in  Liverpool — Startling  news — The  courage  of 
faith — "Will  be  in  York  to-night" — Only  moderate  success — In  the  North  of 
England — Rapidly  growing  interests — Recollections  of  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer — 
Sunderland  and  Newcastle — Pressing  for  decision 152 

CHAPTER  XVII 
BIRTH   OF   THE   "MOODY  AND  SANKEY  HYMN-BOOK" 

Newcastle  the  birthplace — Scarcity  of  American  hymns — Sacred  songs  and  solos — How 
the  royalties  were  used — Completing  the  church  in  Chicago — A  new  book  for 
American  use — The  American  royalties — "  Singing  up  buildings  at  Northfield" 
— The  statement  of  William  E.  Dodge — Opinion  of  an  eminent  lawyer — Ex- 
perience of  George  C.  Stebbins — A  tribute  from  James  McGranahan  .  .  170 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  AWAKENING  IN   EDINBURGH 

Conservative  Scotland — A  noonday  meeting  established — Hearty  indorsement  by 
leading  clergymen — Sankey's  "  kist  o' whistles" — Opposition  withdrawn — The 
Free  Assembly  Hall — Sectarian  barriers  removed — Circular  letter  to  every 
minister  in  Scotland — A  slanderous  letter  from  Chicago  amply  refuted — Tes- 
timony of  Dr.  Horatius  Bonar 182 


Table  of  Contents 
CHAPTER  XIX 

IN   GLASGOW   AND   THE   SCOTTISH   TOWNS 

PAGE 

Preparatory  services— Sympathy  of  Dr.  Andrew  A.  Bonar— Mammoth  gathering  in  the 
Botanical  Gardens— In  other  Scottish  centres— Forty  years  an  invalid— How 
to  meet  the  tempter— Henry  Drummond— Summary  of  results  by  W.  Robertson 
Nicoll  .  197 

CHAPTER   XX 
IRISH  AND   ENGLISH   CITIES 

In  Belfast — A  general  call  to  Christians — Hearty  union  of  churches — Londonderry — 
Christian  work  in  Dublin — In  English  towns — Testimonies  from  the  ministry 
— A  watch-night  service — Estimate  of  Dr.  W.  R.  Dale — Sermon  from  the  four- 
leaved  book — Appeal  for  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  ....  207 

CHAPTER    XXI 
THE    LONDON    CAMPAIGN 

Reason  for  delayed  visit  to  London — Use  of  printers'  ink — Great  halls  engaged — The 
great  need  of  the  metropolis — Influential  helpers — Personal  statement  from  Mr. 
Moody — Answering  objections — His  creed — Success  from  the  first — A  word  of 
warning — Hand-to-hand  work — Strange  crowds — Opposition  and  misrepresenta- 
tion— Caricatures  of  the  press — Lord  Chancellor  Cairn's  sympathy — The  tide 
turns — Indorsed  by  "  The  London  Times" — A  letter  from  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury — Typical  meeting  described — Mr.  Moody's  regard  for  the  Sabbath — 
Meeting  with  Mr.  Gladstone — Charles  H.  Spurgeon 223 

CHAPTER    XXII 

THE    LONDON    CAMPAIGN    CONTINUED 

Great  gathering  of  children — Busy  days — Christian  conventions — With  Eaton  boys  at 
Windsor — Farewell  meetings — Summary  of  the  London  work — Leaving  England 
— Testimony  as  to  results 243 

CHAPTER    XXIII 
RETURN    TO    AMERICA 

Reintroduced  to  his  own  country— Rest  at  Northfield— Purchasing  a  home— Besieged 
with  invitations— Early  plans  for  Northfield  schools— Whittle  and  Bliss  in 
Northfield — Past  experiences  and  future  plans .254 

CHAPTER    XXIV 

BROOKLYN,    PHILADELPHIA,    AND    NEW    YORK 

Mr.  Moody's  influence  with  men  of  affairs— The  campaign  opened  in  Brooklyn— In- 
fluential  indorsement— Supported  by  the  press— Philadelphia— Old  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Depot— Work  among  inebriates— The  passing  of  the  year— The  vener- 
able Dr.  Plumer  as  instructor — Mr.  Moody  as  an  inquirer New  York A 

strong  committee— A  remarkable  Sunday  morning  service— The  great  evening 
throngs— A  vivid  portrayal— Estimates  of  the  work— Thurlow  Weed— Where 
are  the  converts  to-day  ? , 


Table  of  Contents 


CHAPTER  XXV 
CHICAGO   AND   BOSTON 

PAGE 

Welcom«d  in  his  old  home  city — Death  of  P.  P.  Bliss — Large  accessions  to  Chicago's 
churches — In  cultuied  Boston — Testimony  of  Joseph  Cook — Missions  in  other 
cities — Later  campaigns  in  difficult  fields — Value  of  the  individual — Objection  to 
counting  converts — Various  missions  compared  ......  287 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
SECOND   EXTENDED   MISSION   IN   GREAT   BRITAIN 

Visiting  former  fields — Illustrated  sermons  for  the  young — A  Scottish  tour — In  England 
and  Ireland — The  crowning  work  in  London — Extensive  preparations — Great 
portable  tabernacles — Hymn-book  royalties — Reaching  all  classes — In  Satan's 
strongholds  —  Closing  convention  —  A  brief  rest  —  Origin  of  Drummond's 
"  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World  " — A  mutual  testimony 297 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
LATER    MISSIONS   IN   AMERICAN   CITIES 

Many  centres  moved — Interesting  incidents — How  a  jailer  was  caught — On  the  Pacific 
coast — Too  much  reputation — Celebrating  his  sixtieth  birthday — Refusing  to 
grow  old — Bearing  a  governor's  pardon — Invitation  to  Australasia  .  .  .311 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

NORTHFIELD   SEMINARY 

Influence  of  his  brother  Samuel — Henry  F.  Durant  and  Wellesley  College — Purchasing 
a  school  site— Dedication  of  East  Hall— The  plan  of  the  schools— Study  and 
recreation — Twentieth  anniversary 319 

CHAPTER  XXIX 
MOUNT    HERMON   SCHOOLS 

First  purchase  of  land — A  generous  gift — Original  plan  for  young  boys — Nominal  fees 
— Manual  labor — The  school  routine — Various  courses — Religious  atmosphere — 
Temptation  Hill — An  international  gift — A  former  student's  testimony  .  .  327 

CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  BIBLE  INSTITUTE  FOR  HOME  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
Application  entered  for  grandchildren — "Gap-men"  training  school — Tent  work — 
Bible  institutes — Permanent  abode — Thorough  organization — Continuous  terms 
— Systematic  Bible  study — Training  for  the  service  of  song — Record  of  ten 
years'  work 338 

CHAPTER  XXXI 
AMONG  COLLEGE   STUDENTS 

The  spirit  of  college  students— Occasional  visits  to  American  colleges— Notable  visits 
to  Cambridge  and  Oxford— Cambridge  students  make  sport  of  the  meetings— 


Table  of  Contents 

PAGE 

Discouragements—"  Some  mothers*  sons  "—Changing  sentiment— Deep  impres- 
sions—Student opposition  repeated  at  Oxford—"  Playing  with  forked  light- 
ning "—Fair  play  for  an  invited  guest— Apology  and  support— A  positive  stand 
and  a  complete  victory— College  Students'  Conferences— The  Student  Volunteer 
Movement— Widespread  influence 349 

CHAPTER  XXXII 
NORTHFIELD   CONFERENCES 

The  Christian  Workers'  Conference — Early  informal  gatherings  in  Mr.  Moody's  home 

An  inspiration  and  the  outcome — The  first  general  call — A  modern  Pentecost — 

Three  thousand  requests  for  prayer — Conservation,  common  sense,  and  caution 
— Pointed  suggestions — Grace  to  bear  rebuke — Frank  retraction — Wide  scope  of 
the  conference  themes — Mr.  Moody's  last  conference  call — Attendance  of  the 
New  York  Presbyter)— Y.  P.  S.  C.  E 360 

CHAPTER  XXXIII 
VISIT   TO   THE   HOLY   LAND 

Kind  invitations — Touching  responses — Few  real  holidays — Final  acceptance — With 
St.  Paul  in  Rome — The  Pope's  money  not  good  in  Rome — In  the  land  of  the 
Pharaohs — Off  for  Palestine — Carriage  ride  to  Jerusalem — On  holy  ground — 
Preaching  on  Calvary — Hebron — Bethlehem — The  Mount  of  Olives — Making 
friends  with  native  children — Backsheesh — Easter  in  the  Holy  City — Return  to 
Egypt,  Italy,  and  England — Working  while  resting 377 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 
CAPACITY  FOR  WORK 

Magnificent  constitution — Genius  of  generalship — Desire  to  visit  Australia — Disappoint- 
ment— Invitation  to  Scotland  accepted — Christmas  day  meetings — Visit  to  Ireland 
— A  trying  schedule — Almost  exhausted — Medical  examination  and  a  warning  .  393 

CHAPTER  XXXV 
IN   PERIL   ON   THE   DEEP 

Sailing  from  Southampton— A  fine  steamer— Bright  prospects— A  terrible  shock— A 
broken  shaft— A  sinking  vessel— Terrified  passengers— An  awful  night— Seven 
hundred  souls  awaiting  their  doom— Gen.  O.  O.  Howard— Steamer  in  sight- 
Rescue— Eight  anxious  days— Safe  in  port— Thanksgiving— A  new  start— Wel- 
come home  400 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 
WORLD'S   FAIR   CAMPAIGN 

A  great  opportunity— The  man  for  the  hour— Planning  ahead— A  vow  taken— Burning 
zeal— Great  generalship  required— Strange  meeting-places— In  the  theatres— The 
great  circus  tent— Wonderful  financial  support— World-wide  prayers— Marvel- 
lous interest— Great  results '  <  .409 


Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 
THE   USE   OF   THE   PRESS 

PAGE 

Appreciating  its  power — Attitude  regarding  its  criticisms — Personal  statements — No 
compromise  with  Sunday  papers — The  Gospel  in  print — Convention  reports — 
Bible  notes — Printed  sermons — Ingersoll  and  Moody — Dearth  of  religious  litera- 
ture in  small  cities — Country  districts  worse — A  heroic  plan — The  Colportage 
Library — Far-reaching  effects — The  Gospel  in  the  prisons — Definite  results  .  423 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
PREPARING   SERMONS 

Professor  Drummond's  estimate — Early  attempts  at  public  address — First  "  Bible  read- 
ings " — How  sermons  were  prepared — Topical  study — Should  a  sermon  be  re- 
peated?— Envelope  compilations — Three  necessaiy  books — Mr.  Moody's  Bibles  435 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 
ASKING  AND  ANSWERING    QUESTIONS 

Learning  as  well  as  teaching — Other  men's  thoughts — The  temperance  problem — What 
can  a  layman  do  ? — The  "after-meeting  " — The  use  of  the  stereopticon — "  Would 
you  advise  one  to  go  into  the  ministry  ?  " — Elocution — Too  many  churches — How 
to  reach  strangers — Unconverted  church  members — How  to  reach  young  men — 
How  to  overcome  nervousness — Aiming  at  the  heart 448 

CHAPTER  XL 
LATER  EXPERIENCES   WITH    THE   YOUNG    MEN'S   CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATIONS 

Continued  loyalty  to  the  organization — Lifting  financial  burdens — Zealous  for  evan- 
gelistic effort — $150,000  secured  for  Brooklyn  Association,  $200,000  for  New 
York — A  wise  investment  in  St.  Louis — Saving  the  Philadelphia  Association  from 
collapse — Use  of  hvmn-book  royalties — Securing  a  building  for  Richmond,  Va. — 
$84,000  raised  for  San  Francisco— His  influence  in  Albany — Personal  experi- 
ences— Examples  of  enthusiastic  effort — With  a  railway  president — A  good  story 
— Helping  British  Associations — Memorial  tribute 465 

CHAPTER  XLI 
THE   INQUIRY-ROOM 

Mr.  Moody's  idea — Personal  dealing — Authority  from  the  Scriptures — No  set  rules — 
Peculiar  cases — Not  a  confessional — Cautions  and  suggestions — How  to  become 
a  worker  in  the  inquiry-room  .  .».  .  .  .  .  .  .  488 

CHAPTER  XLII 
HIS   BELIEF   AND   PRACTICE 

Standing  by  the  Book — A  mutilated  Bible— Christianity  vs.  infidelity — "I  stand  by 
Jonah  " — No  new  remedy  for  sin — The  Northfield  platform — Mr.  Moody's  church 
membership—  A  statement  of  the  church's  position— Methods  of  work— Inde- 
pendent but  devoted— Abnegation  of  self— The  paramount  object  .  .494 


Table  of  Contents 

CHAPTER  XLIII 
TRAITS  AND   CHARACTERISTICS 


PAGR 


A  character  tnat  could  bear  rigid  examination—"  This  one  thing  I  do  "—Consecrated 
common  sense — Often  standing  alone— Modest  simplicity—"  I  am  a  most  overesti- 
mated man  "—Abhorrence  of  show— A  hero  worshipper —Determination— Intense 
conviction — Avoidance  of  "  lobbies" — Judging  human  nature — Firm  friendships 
—Mr.  Sankey's  tribute— Professor  Towner's  personal  testimony— Faithful  in 
rebuke— Among  his  own  townspeople— Bravery  tested  and  not  found  wanting — 
Quick  perception— Always  himself— As  a  father  confessor— A  Chinese  estimate  502 

CHAPTER  XLIV 
IN   THE    HOME   CIRCLE 

Love  of  country  life — In  the  barn-yard — Early  rising — Affection  for  his  mother — As  a 
grandfather — Characteristic  letters — A  true  husband  and  father — Tender  and 
loving  to  the  end— The  loss  of  his  grandchildren— His  touching  tributes  .  .  530 

CHAPTER  XLV 
WITHIN  THE  GATES 

"  Were  you  ever  homesick  for  Heaven  ?" — Tribute  to  his  mother — "  Comforted  to  com- 
fort"— Kansas  City — Great  gatherings — The  collapse  of  strength — Letter  to  a 
dear  friend — His  last  sermon — A  prophecy — The  last  plea — The  homeward  jour- 
ney— Messages  by  the  way — Back  in  Northfield — Days  of  anxiety — "  Ready  for 
either  " — Last  messages — "Within  the  portals  of  Heaven  " — Death  is  not  hard — 
No  valley  here — Thinking  of  others  to  the  last — Conscious  to  the  end — An  abun- 
dant entrance — His  own  testimony 544 

CHAPTER  XLVI 
AT  REST  ON  ROUND  TOP 

A  victor — Absence  of  crape — Triumphant  mourning — His  own  plan — Natural  in  death 
—The  funeral  services— Exultant  victory— Heartfelt  tributes— A  call  to  larger 
service— A  remarkable  incident— A  token  from  the  skies— A  face  illumined— 
Laid  to  rest — Round  Top — Victory 556 

CHAPTER  XLVII 

MEMORIAL    SERVICES 

Meetings  in  London— Boston— Brooklyn— New  York— Northfield       .         .        .         .571 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 

TRIBUTES   FROM    ENGLISH    FRIENDS 
Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer— Rev.  G.  Campbell  Morgan    . 


MR.  MOODY'S  ENDURING  MONUMENT. 

The  Mount  Hermon  Schools. 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 

MR.  MOODY'S  LATEST  PORTRAIT Frontispiece 

MR.  MOODY'S  ENDURING  MONUMENTS  : 

PLAN  OF  THE  SEMINARY  BUILDINGS,  NORTHFIELD    .        .         To  face  12 
PLAN  OF  THE  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS,  MOUNT  HERMON  .        .         To  face  13 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  GRANDMOTHER 15 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  MOTHER,  IN  1856 15 

THE  HOME  OF  ISAIAH  MOODY,  GRANDFATHER  OF  D.  L.  MOODY      .        .  16 

BIRTHPLACE  OF  D.  L.  MOODY        .........  16 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  FATHER,  FROM  A  SILHOUETTE  PORTRAIT  ....  33 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  MOTHER,  FROM  A  SILHOUETTE  PORTRAIT  ....  33 

D.  L.  MOODY  AT  THE  TIME  OF  HIS  LEAVING  HOME  FOR  BOSTON     .        .  34 

MOODY'S  BODY  GUARD— WILL  IT  PAY  ? 51 

MOODY'S  BODY  GUARD — IT  DOES  PAY  !   .     . "      .  • 52 

MR.  MOODY  AT  TWENTY-FIVE:  CITY  MISSIONARY  IN  CHICAGO  ...  69 

MR.  MOODY  AT  TWENTY-SEVEN  :  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  WORKER       ...  69 

MR.  AND  MRS.  MOODY  IN  1864  AND  1869 70 

CERTIFICATE  OF  MEMBERSHIP,  CHICAGO  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSO- 
CIATION      .        .        .       . 87 

CERTIFICATE   OF   STOCK   IN    NORTH    MARKET   HALL   SABBATH  SCHOOL 

ASSOCIATION 87 

MR.  MOODY  DURING  EARLY  YEARS  IN  CHICAGO.       .       .       .       .       .  88 

DWIGHT   L.   MOODY  WHEN  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  CHICAGO  YOUNG  MEN'S 

CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   .       .       .       .       ..      .       .       .       *       .  105 

THE  ORIGINAL  FARWELL  HALL      .       .       .       »       .       .       .       .       .105 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  MOTHER,  FROM  A  PORTRAIT  TAKEN  IN  1867     .  -..-«-    .  106 

A  PAGE  FROM  MR.  MOODY'S  BIBLE       .  ?S  >  -    ,,    -  »       »    .  •     . «       .  123 

IRA  D.  SANKEY        ,       ,       ,       ,       ,       ,       •       »       »      •       •       •  I24 


List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

ILLINOIS  STREET  CHURCH,  CHICAGO 141 

MOODY'S  TABERNACLE:  FIRST  BUILDING  ERECTED  AFTER  THE  CHICAGO 

FIRE 141 

PORTRAIT  IN  OIL  OF  D.  L.  MOODY  BY  HEALEY 142 

D.  L.  MOODY  IN  HIS  FORTY-FIFTH  YEAR 159 

DWIGHT  L.  MOODY  AT  FORTY-FIVE.    PORTRAIT  TAKEN  IN  PARIS     .        .160 

CHICAGO  AVENUE  CHURCH,  CHICAGO,  AS  OCCUPIED  FOR  Two  YEARS        .  177 

CHICAGO  AVENUE  CHURCH,  CHICAGO 178 

FREE  CHURCH  ASSEMBLY  HALL,  EDINBURGH 195 

FAREWELL  MEETING  AT  BOTANICAL  GARDENS,  GLASGOW    .       .       .        .196 

EXHIBITION  HALL,  DUBLIN 213 

BINGLEY  HALL,  BIRMINGHAM,  ENGLAND 214 

MR.  MOODY  IN  1884,  FROM  OIL  PORTRAIT  BY  CLIFFORD     .        .        .        .231 

AGRICULTURAL  HALL,  ISLINGTON,  LONDON 232 

MR.  MOODY'S  OLD  BIBLE 249 

MR.  MOODY  PREACHING  IN  THE  OPERA  HOUSE,  HAYMARKET,  LONDON     .  250 

PORTABLE  HALL 250 

MR.  MOODY'S  MOTHER  IN  HER  NINETY-FIRST  YEAR 255 

VIEW  OF  CONNECTICUT  RIVER  VALLEY  FROM  D.  L.  MOODY'S  RESIDENCE  256 

SCENE  IN  THE  BROOKLYN  RINK,  INTERIOR 265 

THE  BROOKLYN  RINK,  EXTERIOR 265 

EXTERIOR  OF  OLD  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  DEPOT,  PHILADELPHIA         .  266 

INTERIOR  OF  OLD  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  DEPOT 266 

THE  "HIPPODROME,"  NEW  YORK 271 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  "HIPPODROME" 271 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  PRIVATE  STUDY 272 

D.  L.  MOODY'S  LIBRARY 272 

MAIN  STREET  OF  NORTHFIELD — Two  VIEWS 289 

A  FOREST  CONVENTION  AT  KINSMAN,  OHIO 290 

THE  NORTHFIELD  HOME  OF  MR.  MOODY 307 

ROUND  TOP:  THE  BURIAL  PLACE 308 

NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY 325 

MOUNT  HERMON  CAMPUS  FROM  "TEMPTATION  HILL"       ....  326 

OVERTOUN  HALL,  MOUNT  HERMON 331 


List  of  Illustrations 

frAGB 

MOUNT  HERMON  BUILDINGS . "       .       .    331 

MOUNT  HERMON  CHAPEL .       .       .       .    332 

THE  OLD  MOUNT  HERMON  FERRY  ACROSS  THE  CONNECTICUT  .        .        .    332 

BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO  :    MEN'S  DEPARTMENT 341 

SOUTH  SECTION  OF  LADY'S  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO      .    342 

THE  GOSPEL  ON  WHEELS  :    A  BIBLE  CARRIAGE 347 

PORTION  OF  LADIES'  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO       .        .    347 

MR.  MOODY  WITH  COLLEGE  STUDENTS 348 

THE  NEW  AUDITORIUM,  NORTHFIELD— THE  CENTRE  OF  THE  CONFERENCES    365 

ON  THE  NORTHFIELD  AUDITORIUM  PLATFORM 366 

INTERIOR  NORTHFIELD  AUDITORIUM  DURING  CONFERENCE  .  .  .371 
MEMBERS  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  PRESBYTERY  AT  NORTHFIELD  .  .  .371 
MR.  MOODY  AS  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  NORTHFIELD  CONFERENCES  .  .  .372 
MR.  MOODY  PREACHING  ON  "THE  HILL  CALLED  CALVARY"  .  .  .381 
THE  CHILDREN  OF  JERUSALEM  FIND  MR.  MOODY  A  GENEROUS  DISTRIBU- 
TOR OF  "  BACKSHEESH  " .  382 

WITH  DAUGHTER  AND  GRANDDAUGHTER 382 

MR.  MOODY'S  NORTHFIELD  HOME  .        .        .       . 387 

DINING  ROOM  IN  MR.  MOODY'S  HOME 387 

MR.  MOODY  HAILING  A  FRIEND 388 

MR.  MOODY  AS  His  TOWNSFOLK  KNEW  HIM 388 

VIEW  OF  CONNECTICUT  VALLEY  FROM  THE  STONE  CHAIR         .       .       .405 

NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  (FROM  A  DISTANCE) 405 

THE  CAMP  AT  COLLEGE  CONFERENCE 405 

MARQUAND  HALL,  NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY 406 

NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  BUILDINGS  AND  CAMPUS  FROM  THE  EAST  .  .  406 
THE  CONNECTICUT  RIVER,  WITH  NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  IN  THE  DISTANCE  406 

INTERIOR  CHICAGO  AVENUE  CHURCH,  CHICAGO 411 

LECTURE  ROOM,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO  .  .  .  ',  ..411 
OFFICE  LADIES'  DEPARTMENT  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO  .  .  .  .412 
RECEPTION  ROOM  MEN'S  DEPARTMENT  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO  .  .412 
MR.  MOODY  TAKING  His  GRANDCHILD  FOR  A  DRIVE  .  .-  .  .  -  421 

MR.  MOODY  AND  GRANDSON,  DWIGHT  L.,  II •    .    422 

A  BROWN  STUDY 422 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGR 


THE  NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  BUILDINGS,  ON  THE  CONNECTICUT  RIVER     .  427 

WANAMAKER  LAKE  IN  SUMMER  DRESS  . 428 

NORTHFIELD  IN  WINTER  DRESS 428 

BETSY  MOODY  COTTAGE — NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY 445 

THE  "REVELL":    FIRST  PERMANENT  BUILDING  ERECTED  FOR  SEMINARY 

PURPOSES 445 

THE  NORTHFIELD  CHURCH 446 

"THE  NORTHFIELD"  HOTEL 446 

WITH  CAMPERS  AT  CAMP  NORTHFIELD 451 

MEETING  OF  THE  COLLEGE  STUDENTS  ON  ROUND  TOP       ....  452 

MEETING  OF  THE  COLLEGE  GIRLS  ON  ROUND  TOP 452 

MR.  AND  MRS.  MOODY  WITH  GRANDCHILDREN 461 

FOUR  GENERATIONS  OF  THE  MOODY  FAMILY 462 

ABSORBED  IN  His  CORRESPONDENCE 467 

MR.  MOODY  WATCHING  A  GAME  BY  MOUNT  HERMON  STUDENTS      .       '.  468 

COLLEGE  STUDENTS'  CONFERENCE           485 

A  CORNER  IN  THE  COLLEGE  CAMP 485 

MR.  MOODY  AND  His  GRANDDAUGHTER  IRENE 486 

MR.  MOODY  AS  A  GRANDFATHER 503 

MR.  MOODY  INSPECTING  NORTHFIELD  BUILDINGS 504 

NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  BUILDINGS 504 

ASHUELOT  RIVER  AND  ROAD 521 

EAST  HALL,  NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY .        .  522 

A  QUIET  SPOT— WANAMAKER  LAKE— SEMINARY  GROUNDS          .       .        .522 

MRS.  D.  L.  MOODY  WITH  GRANDCHILDREN 539 

INTERIOR  GREAT  HALL  IN  KANSAS  CITY  WHERE  MR.  MOODY'S  LAST  MEET- 
INGS WERE  HELD 540 

ROUND  TOP  IN  WHITE  APPAREL 557 

AT  REST  ON  ROUND  TOP .       .558 


THE  HOME  OF  ISAIAH  MOODY,  GRANDFATHER  OF  D.  L.  MOODY. 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  D.  L.  MOODY. — OCCUPIED  BY  HIS  MOTHER  UNTIL  HER 
DEATH  IN  HER  NINETY-SECOND  YEAR  (1896). 


The   Life   of  Dwight  L.   Moody 

3  .r/££ 

CHAPTER    I 
EARLY  LIFE 

"XT  EVER  mind  the  ancestry !     A  man  I  once  heard  of  was 
I  ^      ambitious  to  trace  his  family  to  the  Mayflower,  and  he 
stumbled    over    a    horse-thief.      Never    mind    a    man's 
ancestry ! " 

In  this  democratic  spirit  Mr.  Moody  disposed  of  the  history  of  past 
generations,  taking  no  credit  to  himself  for  their  achievements,  and 
feeling  in  no  way  responsible  for  their  failings.  It  is  nevertheless  of 
interest  that  for  two  hundred  years  his  ancestors  lived  their  quiet 
lives  in  the  seclusion  of  their  farm-homes  in  the  Connecticut  Valley. 
Beyond  the  limits  of  local  politics  they  do  not  seem  to  have  figured 
much  in  public  affairs.  Among  the  number  there  were  a  few  pro- 
fessional men,  and  in  the  early  struggles  for  independence,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Moody  and  Holton  families  were  among  those  who 
counted  their  lives  not  too  dear  a  price  for  those  rich  privileges  of 
religious  and  national  liberty  which  they  sought  to  insure  to  their 
posterity.  But  for  the  most  part  their  careers  were  bounded  by  a 
limited  horizon,  and  they  served  their  day  and  generation  in  the 
simple  station  to  which  they  were  called. 

As  pioneers  they  were  successful,  and  the  same  traits  of  character 
which  distinguished  his  ancestors  in  this  respect  found  expression, 


1 8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

under  different  conditions  and  in  a  more  remarkable  degree,  in  their 
descendant.  Mr.  Moody  inherited  from  that  hardy  stock  an  iron 
constitution  capable  of  great  physical  endurance  and  a  capacity  for 
hard,  continuous  work.  He  early  developed  those  distinguishing 
traits  of  his  New  England  forefathers :  a  strong  love  of  liberty,  loyalty 
to  conviction,  courage  in  the  face  of  obstacles,  and  sound  judgment 
in  organization ;  and  these  constituted  his  most  valuable  legacy  from 
his  seven  generations  of  Puritan  ancestors. 

The  earliest  records  of  the  Moody  family  in  America  date  from 
the  landing  of  John  Moody  in  1633.  Settling  first  in  Roxbury,  he 
moved  later  to  the  Connecticut  Valley,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
original  proprietors  of  Hartford;  from  here  he  moved  to  Hadley, 
Mass.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  Isaiah  Moody  and 
his  sons  were  settled  in  Northfield;  and  the  eldest  of  these  boys  was 
Edwin,  the  father  of  Dwight  L.  Moody. 

Here  for  years  they  followed  the  family  trade  of  masonry,  which, 
in  those  early  days,  included  the  making  and  burning  of  bricks  as 
well  as  the  laying  of  foundations  and  the  building  of  houses  and 
chimneys.  To  the  conscientious  performance  of  their  work  many 
an  old  farmhouse  in  and  about  Northfield  still  bears  silent  witness. 
A  member  of  Mr.  Moody's  family  was  introduced  a  few  years  ago  to 
a  centenarian  of  Warwick,  a  neighboring  village.  The  visitor  was 
presented  as  a  son  of  D.  L.  Moody,  but  the  old  farmer  found  a  far 
stronger  recommendation  in  the  fact  that  the  young  man's  great- 
grandfather and  grandfather  had,  three-quarters  of  a  century  before, 
laid  the  foundation  and  built  the  chimney  of  the  house  they  were  in ; 
and,  with  a  slight  touch  of  jealous  pride  for  the  former  generation, 
he  declared  that  "  the  work  was  well  done  and  had  stood  the  test  of 
time." 

From  his  mother's  family,  too,  Mr.  Moody  received  a  goodly  heri- 
tage of  Puritan  pluck,  the  Holtons  antedating  the  Moodys  in  America 
by  three  years.  They  landed  in  1630,  and  were  among  the  first 
settlers  of  Northfield,  where  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  they 


Early  Life  19 

have  been  residents.  They  cherish  a  natural  pride  in  the  fact  that, 
from  the  date  of  the  original  grant  from  the  British  Crown,  no  deed  of 
transfer  of  the  old  Holton  homestead  has  ever  been  recorded.  This 
farm,  beautiful  in  its  situation,  lies  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River,  a  mile  or  two  from  Northfield  Street,  adjoining  the  com- 
manding site,  purchased  by  Mr.  Moody,  upon  which  is  built  the  well- 
known  Mount  Hermon  School.  Some  idea  of  the  hardships  through 
which  the  Moody  and  Holton  families  passed,  in  common  with  their 
neighbors,  is  preserved  in  the  early  records  of  the  towns  of  Hadley 
and  Northfield.  In  the  local  cemetery,  near  the  Mount  Hermon 
School,  lie  the  remains  of  many  of  the  Holton  family,  whose  names 
for  more  than  seven  generations  are  recorded  on  the  old  headstones. 

Betsy  Holton  and  Edwin  Moody  were  married  on  January  3,  1828. 
It  had  been  arranged  that  the  ceremony  should  take  place  on  New 
Year's  day,  but  the  Connecticut  River  had  little  regard  for  the  lovers, 
and  unexpectedly  rose  above  its  banks  after  a  sudden  thaw.  Al- 
though the  young  people's  homes  were  but  four  miles  apart,  in  those 
days  before  bridges  spanned  the  river  the  swollen  stream  was  an 
insurmountable  obstacle  even  to  so  resolute  a  character  as  Edwin 
Moody,  and  only  by  making  a  detour  of  many  miles  was  the  marriage 
celebrated  without  a  still  longer  postponement.  The  bride  was 
twenty-three  years  old  and  her  husband  twenty-eight  when  they  left 
the  old  Holton  homestead  that  January  evening  to  make  a  new  home 
in  Northfield. 

It  was  a  true  love  match  between  the  reckless,  dashing,  and  open- 
handed  young  man  and  his  pretty  wife,  and  for  twelve  and  a  half 
years  they  enjoyed  their  happiness.  God  blessed  their  union  with 
seven  children  during  this  time,  and  by  the  skill  and  industry  of  his 
trade  the  father  provided  amply  for  his  family  support. 

Dwight  Lyman,  the  sixth  child,  was  born  February  5,  1837.  The 
old  family  record  adds  the  name  of  Ryther,  but  this  was  early  dis- 
carded. In  those  days  it  was  customary  for  one  who  was  compli- 
mented by  the  bestowal  of  his  name  upon  a  child  to  present  a  sheep  to 


20  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  baby  in  recognition  of  the  honor  his  babyhood  was  innocently 
conferring.  The  feelings  of  the  fond  parents  were  wounded  by  the 
omission,  in  D wight's  case,  of  the  customary  gift,  and  "  Ryther  "  does 
not  seem  to  appear  again  after  its  entry  on  the  record  of  the  births 
in  the  large  family  Bible. 

It  was  foreign  to  the  disposition  of  Edwin  Moody  to  give  much 
thought  to  the  future,  and  so  it  is  not  strange  that  he  made  little  or 
no  provision  for  the  contingency  of  his  sudden  death.  When,  there- 
fore, he  was  stricken  down  without  a  moment's  warning  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-one,  the  widow  was  left  with  practically  no  means  of 
support.  •  The  homestead  itself  was  encumbered  with  a  mortgage, 
and  but  for  the  merciful  provision  of  the  law  securing  dower  rights, 
the  widow  would  have  been  left  without  even  a  shelter  for  the 
family.  The  creditors  took  everything  which  they  could  secure,  to 
the  very  kindling  wood  in  the  shed,  and  left  the  widow  with  her 
seven  children  in  the  utmost  straits.  It  was  at  this  time  that  one 
of  Mrs.  Moody's  brothers  ministered  most  opportunely  and  gener- 
ously to  the  needs  of  the  family.  The  supply  of  firewood  had  been 
completely  exhausted,  and  the  children  had  been  told  that  they  must 
stay  in  bed  till  school-time  to  keep  warm.  It  was  then  that  "  Uncle 
Cyrus  "  Holton  came  to  the  rescue  with  a  load  of  wood,  and,  good 
Samaritan  that  he  was,  sawed  and  split  it  for  immediate  use. 

"  I  remember,"  said  Mr.  Moody  in  later  years,  "  just  as  vividly  as 
if  it  were  yesterday,  how  I  heard  the  sound  of  chips  flying,  and  I  knew 
some  one  was  chopping  wood  in  our  wood-shed,  and  that  we  should 
soon  have  a  fire.  I  shall  never  forget  Uncle  Cyrus  coming  with 
what  seemed  to  me  the  biggest  pile  of  wood  I  ever  saw  in  my  life." 
It  was  such  remembrances  as  these  that  always  made  his  heart  vibrate 
with  peculiar  sympathy  for  those  who  were  in  want. 

A  less  determined  and  courageous  heart  than  the  resolute  widow's 
would  have  been  overcome  by  the  dark  prospect  for  the  future,  but 
that  true  soul  had  inherited  the  sturdy  strength  and  undaunted  cour- 
age which  had  distinguished  her  early  ancestors  as  pioneers  in  the  new 


Early  Life  21 

world,  and  with  a  strong  faith  in  God  she  faced  the  conflict  with 
poverty. 

Some  of  her  neighbors  urged  her  to  break  up  the  little  home  and 
place  the  children  in  families  where  they  might  be  cared  for  by 
strangers.  Even  those  from  whom  more  practical  help  might  have 
been  expected  strongly  advised  this  course,  and  because  their  advice 
was  not  accepted  seemed  to  feel  that  they  were  absolved  from  any 
further  duty.  The  birth  of  twins  after  her  husband  died  added 
greatly  to  the  cares  and  difficulties  of  her  position,  and  during  the 
long  summer  that  followed  there  were  many  times  when  it  seemed 
that  the  burden  was  too  great  for  human  endurance.  It  was  during 
these  days  that  Mrs.  Moody's  brother  aided  her,  and  at  this  time,  too, 
the  old  minister  of  the  Unitarian  Church,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Everett,  inter- 
ested himself  in  the  family's  behalf. 

Shortly  after  the  father's  death  this  good  man  visited  the  destitute 
family  and  helped  them  both  by  counsel  and  material  assistance. 
The  older  children  were  all  enrolled  in  the  Sunday-school  of  the 
church,  and  from  the  hands  of  this  minister  the  entire  family  received 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  No  sooner  had  the  attendance  of  the 
Moody  children  been  secured  than  they  were  commissioned  to  bring 
in  other  scholars.  In  a  sense,  therefore,  Mr.  Moody's  Sunday-school 
mission  work  began  at  an  earlier  date  than  is  commonly  supposed, 
for  as  a  child  he  and  his  brother  George  frequently  acted  as  aggres- 
sive home  missionaries  in  securing  recruits  for  the  village  Sunday- 
school. 

'With  the  sole  care  of  so  large  a  family  the  religious  instruction  in 
the  home  was  not  so  thoroughly  doctrinal  as  in  some  households  of 
to-day,  but  the  mother  instructed  her  children  in  the  true  religion 
of  the  heart  that  seeks  first  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  though 
Dwight  at  seventeen,  as  a  member  of  a  young  men's  Bible  class  in 
Boston,  was  bewildered  by  the  request  to  turn  to  a  simple  Scriptural 
reference,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  of  his  amused  companions  were  more 


22  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

thoroughly  established  in  "  pure  religion  and  undented  before  God 
and  the  Father  "  than  he.  Certainly  none  was  purer  and  more  inno- 
cent in  heart  than  the  keen,  awkward  country  boy. 

It  was  not  till  after  he  left  home  that  his  actual  personal  conversion 
occurred,  but  it  was  to  a  tender  conscience  and  an  open  heart  that 
the  gospel  invitation  was  given,  and  a  soul  already  trained  to  love 
and  honor  God  readily  accepted  His  offer  of  salvation.  The  Chris- 
tian training  of  his  mother  and  the  faithfulness  of  her  good  pastor 
were  a  sacred  remembrance  in  all  his  after  experiences,  and  he  ever 
spoke  appreciatively  of  the  debt  he  owed  to  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Everett. 

"  Trust  in  God  "  was  the  brief  creed  of  his  mother's  simple  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  early  in  life  the  children  learned  to  love  that  God  and 
pray  to  Him  who  is  the  strength  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow. 
Many  evidences  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  this  lesson  was 
taught  to  Dwight  and  his  brothers  are  found  in  their  early  experi- 
ences. 

One  night  in  the  late  fall  Dvvight's  older  brother,  a  boy  of  twelve, 
and  himself,  then  only  eight  years  of  age,  started  to  a  neighboring 
farm  about  four  miles  away,  where  they  had  secured  employment  in 
the  cutting  of  broom  corn.  Boylike,  they  had  not  started  on  their 
journey  until  the  evening  had  set  in,  and  long  before  they  reached 
the  old  ferry  across  the  Connecticut  River  it  had  become  very 
dark. 

Hand  in  hand  they  crossed  the  meadow  to  the  landing,  and  then 
shouted  over  the  river  for  the  ferryman  to  bring  his  skiff.  Soon 
they  could  hear  voices  and  see  a  lantern  approaching  from  the 
opposite  bank.  Then  a  voice  shouted  across  the  flood  that  one  man 
would  cross  the  river  with  the  boat,  while  the  other  would  remain 
where  he  was  with  the  lantern  to  direct  their  course.  In  the  intense 
darkness  they  soon  lost  sight  of  the  approaching  boat,  and  for  a 
long  time  they  could  hear  nothing  of  the  ferryman,  who  had  been 
carried  far  down  the  stream  by  the  swift  current.  After  some  sus- 


Early  Life  23 

pense  they  heard  the  boat  approaching  along  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and  finally  the  boatman  reached  them.  When  they  had  taken 
their  places  and  were  pushing  out  from  the  bank,  the  boys  found 
that  the  old  man  was  intoxicated  and  in  no  condition  to  row  them 
safely  across  the  river.  Dwight  held  tightly  to  his  brother,  who,  see- 
ing that  they  were  being  carried  far  away  from  the  lantern  on  the 
opposite  bank,  urged  to  be  allowed  to  take  the  oars  and  help.  But 
the  old  man  in  his  maudlin  condition  stubbornly  refused,  and  as  the 
current  bore  them  swiftly  down  the  stream  they  became  more  and 
more  alarmed.  Then  Dwight,  taking  his  brother's  hand,  tried  to 
encourage  him  by  assuring  him  that  God  would  care  for  them  and 
guard  them  even  in  their  present  peril.  Many  a  child  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances would  have  thought  only  of  human  expedients,  but  at 
that  early  age  he  had  been  taught  an  implicit  trust  in  God  as  the  true 
resource  in  time  of  danger. 

Mrs.  Moody  was  tender-hearted,  and  the  children  early  learned 
the  privilege  of  giving  from  their  scanty  store.  The  hungry  were 
never  turned  away  from  her  door,  and  on  one  occasion  when  the 
provision  for  the  evening  meal  was  very  meagre  it  was  put  to  the 
vote  of  the  little  ones  whether  they  should  give  of  their  small  supply 
to  a  poor  beggar  who  appealed  for  aid.  The  children  begged  that 
he  should  be  aided  and  offered  to  have  their  own  slices  cut  thinner. 

It  was  also  one  of  the  irrevocable  laws  of  her  home  that  no  fault- 
finding or  complaining  of  neighbors  or  friends  would  be  tolerated. 
The  mother  thus  implanted  in  the  children  a  spirit  of  independence 
as  well  as  charity ;  and  even  those  whose  neglect  was  most  inexcusable 
never  heard  directly  or  indirectly  one  word  of  complaint  from  the 
little  family  in  their  want  and  adversity.  Dwight  Moody  was  not 
the  only  Yankee  boy  who  could  look  back  on  that  combination  of 
charity  for  others  with  inflexible  independence  for  one's  self  that  has 
made  the  New  England  character  what  it  is.  His  very  limitations 
taught  the  poor  boy  of  that  day  the  "  sharpness  "  and  "  contrivance  " 
that  grow  into  what  we  call  executive  ability,  just  as  the  almost 


24  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Spartan  simplicity  of  diet  and  training  developed  in  a  good  consti- 
tution the  wonderful  powers  of  endurance  that  have  marked  many 
New  Englanders. 

While  the  mother  was  truly  kind  and  loving  she  was  withal  a  strict 
disciplinarian.  Order  was  enforced  by  rules,  with  old-fashioned 
whippings  as  a  penalty.  These  events  were  more  or  less  frequent  in 
the  case  of  Dwight,  who  was  the  leader  in  all  kinds  of  boyish  mischief. 
In  later  years  he  described  these  punishments  and  his  futile  attempts 
to  escape  them : 

"  Mother  would  send  me  out  for  a  stick,  and  I  thought  I  could  fool 
her  and  get  a  dead  one.  But  she  would  snap  the  stick  and  then  tell 
me  to  get  another.  She  was  rarely  in  a  hurry,  and  certainly  never 
when  she  was  whipping  me.  Once  I  told  her  that  the  whipping  did 
not  hurt  at  all.  I  never  had  occasion  to  tell  her  so  again,  for  she  put 
it  on  so  it  did  hurt." 

To  these  whippings  Mr.  Moody  always  referred  with  great  ap- 
proval, but  with  delightful  inconsistency  never  adopted  the  same 
measures  in  the  government  of  his  own  family.  In  his  home  grace 
was  the  ruling  principle  and  not  law,  and  the -sorest  punishment  of 
a  child  was  the  sense  that  the  father's  loving  heart  had  been  grieved 
by  waywardness  or  folly. 

Among  the  principles  which  this  Puritan  mother  taught  her  chil- 
dren to  observe  was  the  inviolable  sanctity  of  a  promise.  In  later 
years  it  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Moody  that  he  hated  to  commit 
himself  absolutely  by  promises,  and  doubtless  that  aversion  was  in 
part  the  outgrowth  of  the  stern  but  wholesome  teachings  of  his  youth. 
If  the  children  tried  to  avoid  an  obligation  the  question  they  had  to 
meet  was  not,  "Can  you?  "  but,  "  Did  you  say  you  would?  "  If  a 
promise  had  been  made,  it  must  be  kept.  Once  when.  Dwight  went 
to  his  older  brother  to  be  released  from  an  agreement  to  work  for  a 
neighbor  for  his  board  during  the  winter,  while  he  was  also  attending 
school,  the  case  was  carried  to  their  mother.  Dwight's  cause  of 
complaint  was  that  for  nineteen  consecutive  meals  his  only  food  had 


Early  Life  25 

been  cornmeal  and  milk.  When  his  mother  found  that  he  had  had 
enough  to  eat,  such  as  it  was,  Dwight  was  sent  back  to  keep  his 
agreement. 

But  with  all  the  strictness  of  her  discipline  the  mother  was  tenderly 
wise,  in  a  manner  not  so  common  at  that  day  as  now,  when  the  needs 
of  the  child  are  so  carefully  studied.  Knowing  the  dangers  that 
awaited  her  children  in  the  outside  world,  she  determined  to  guard 
them  as  long  as  she  could.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  make 
home  attractive,  and  this  she  proved  herself  able  to  do  far  better  than 
many  who  have  had  more  means  with  which  to  secure  the  luxuries 
of  life.  She  discouraged  her  children  from  going  to  the  neighbors 
to  find  their  recreation,  but  always  welcomed  their  friends  to  the 
hospitality  of  their  own  little  home.  They  were  spirited  children  and 
given  to  wild  romps,  but  she  would  sit  quietly  at  her  mending, 
though  the  very  roof  seemed  threatened  by  the  boisterous  games  of 
her  own  and  her  neighbors'  boys  and  girls. 

The  advent  of  a  Sabbath's  rest,  beginning  with  sundown  on  Satur- 
day and  ending  at  the  same  time  Sunday  evening,  must  have  been  to 
her  a  most  welcome  respite.  Church  attendance  was  not  a  debat- 
able question  in  the  family,  but  was  as  inevitable  as  a  law  of  nature. 
The  boys  used  to  go  barefoot,  carrying  their  shoes  and  stockings  in 
their  hands,  and  putting  them  on  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
church.  The  elder  boys,  who  were  out  at  work  during  the  week, 
came  home  on  Saturday  night  to  attend  church  with  their  brothers 
and  sisters.  They  carried  luncheon  and  stayed  all  day,  hearing  the 
two  sermons  and  attending  the  Sunday-school  which  came  in  be- 
tween; and  then  all  would  troop  home  again  for  supper,  the  older 
ones  returning  later  to  their  work,  while  the  younger  children,  as  the 
sunset  announced  the  end  of  the  day  of  rest,  would  release  their  long 
pent-up  spirits  in  wild  romps  and  shouts.  In  spite  o^  the  poverty 
which  parted  them  during  the  week,  the  mother  thus  preserved  the 
home-life  on  the  one  day  in  seven. 

In  later  years  Mr.  Moody  looked  back  with  gratitude  to  this  strict 


26  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

requirement  of  church  attendance.  Those  hours  in  the  village 
church,  tedious  as  they  were,  listening  as  he  must  to  sermons  which 
he  could  not  understand,  he  came  to  look  upon  as  a  blessing  because 
they  fixed  upon  him  the  habit  of  attending  God's  house. 

"  I  remember  blaming  my  mother  for  sending  me  to  church  on  the 
Sabbath,"  he  once  said.  "  On  one  occasion  the  preacher  had  to  send 
some  one  into  the  gallery  to  wake  me  up.  I  thought  it  was  hard 
to  have  to  work  in  the  field  all  the  week,  and  then  be  obliged  to  go  to 
church  and  hear  a  sermon  I  didn't  understand.  I  thought  I  wouldn't 
go  to  church  any  more  when  I  got  away  from  home;  but  I  had  got 
so  in  the  habit  of  going  that  I  couldn't  stay  away.  After  one  or  two 
Sabbaths,  back  again  to  the  house  of  God  I  went.  There  I  first  found 
Christ,  and  I  have  often  said  since :  '  Mother,  I  thank  you  for  making 
me  go  to  the  house  of  God  when  I  didn't  want  to  go.'  " 

Sunday  evenings,  after  supper,  the  mother  would  gather  the  chil- 
dren about  her  before  the  old-fashioned  fireplace,  in  winter,  or  under 
one  of  the  great  sugar-maple  trees  in  the  front  yard,  if  it  were  summer, 
and  read  to  them  out  of  the  books  which  they  brought  home  from 
the  Sunday-school  library.  Three  books  constituted  the  home  li- 
brary:  a  large  family  Bible,  in  which  were  written  the  family  records; 
a  catechism,  and  a  book  of  devotions,  comprising  contemplations  and 
written  prayers.  From  the  latter  a  portion  was  read  each  morning, 
and  also  a  prayer  before  the  family  entered  upon  the  work  of  the 
day. 

Mr.  Moody  could  never  speak  of  those  early  days  of  want  and 
adversity  without  the  most  tender  references  to  that  brave  mother 
whose  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  had  sacredly  guarded  the  home 
intrusted  to  her  care.  When,  at  the  age  of  ninety,  her  life-voyage 
ended,  she  entered  the  Haven  of  Rest,  her  children,  her  children's 
children,  and  an  entire  community  rose  up  to  call  her  blessed.  And 
well  she  deserved  the  praise  they  gave  her,  for  she  had  wisely  and 
discreetly  discharged  the  duties  God  had  placed  upon  her,  and  enter- 
ing the  presence  of  her  Master,  could  render  a  faithful  account  of  the 


Early  Life  27 

stewardship  of  motherhood.  To  rule  a  household  of  seven  sturdy 
boys  and  two  girls,  the  eldest  twelve  years  old,  required  no  ordinary 
tact  and  sound  judgment,  but  so  discreet  was  this  loyal  mother  that 
to  the  very  end  she  made  "  home  "  the  most  loved  place  on  earth 
to  her  family,  and  so  frained  her  children  as  to  make  them  a  blessing 
to  society. 

"  For  nearly  fifty  years  I  have  been  coming  back  to  Northfield," 
said  Mr.  Moody  long  after  that  little  circle  had  been  broken  up,  "  and 
I  have  always  been  glad  to  get  back.  When  I  get  within  fifty  miles 
of  home  I  grow  restless  and  walk  up  and  down  the  car.  It  seems  as 
if  the  train  will  never  get  to  Northfield.  When  I  come  back  after 
dark  I  always  look  to  see  the  light  in  mother's  window." 


CHAPTER    II 
LEAVING  HOME 

IT  was  an  early  characteristic  of  Moody  that  his  determination 
to  accomplish  his  purpose  was  not  easily  thwarted.  On  one 
occasion  he  wished  to  visit  his  grandmother  Holton,  who  lived 
about  four  miles  away.  The  little  man  was  scarce  five  years  of  age, 
and  so  long  a  journey  seemed  even  greater  than  many  times  that 
distance  to  an  older  child.  Some  one  had  given  him  five  cents,  but 
this  was  only  half  the  required  amount  for  a  child's  stage-fare  for  this 
distance.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  little  Dwight  stopped  the  pass- 
ing stage  and,  having  stated  his  case  to  the  driver,  asked  if  he  would 
accept  the  five  cents  for  his  fare.  The  stage  was  already  full  inside, 
but  the  stage  driver  consented  to  take  him  as  baggage,  and  for  five 
cents  placed  him  on  top  of  the  coach  within  the  rack  that  guarded 
the  trunks.  He  reached  his  grandmother's,  the  only  other  home  in 
the  world  where  the  Moody  children  were  assured  of  a  welcome,  and 
after  spending  a  day  at  the  old  farm  was  urged  by  his  relatives  to 
make  an  early  start  for  home,  as  it  was  supposed  that  he  intended 
to  walk  back  to  Northfield.  The  little  fellow  had  made  up  his  mind, 
however,  that  the  stage  coach  was  far  preferable  to  a  long  tramp,  and 
had  already  made  his  plans  for  riding  home.  Going  out  into  the  fields, 
he  picked  a  bouquet  of  wild  flowers,  and  another  of  caraway,  and 
once  more  hailed  the  coach,  proffering  his  flowers  for  his  return 
journey,  We  can  imagine  the  surprise  of  his  mother  at  seeing 
Dwight  returning  in  triumph  perched  upon  the  stage  box. 

It  was  this  spirit  which  made  him  a  leader  among  the  boys  in  his 


Leaving  Home  29 

native  town,  and  the  wild  escapades  into  which  he  led  his  companions 
were  the  source  of  amusing  reminiscences  in  later  years.  "  Squire  " 
Alexander,  from  the  fact  that  his  was  the  nearest  residence  to  the  old 
red  schoolhouse  of  that  district,  was  most  frequently  the  victim  of 
these  pranks.  Stories  are  told  of  how  Dwight  and  his  companions 
would  appropriate  the  Squire's  old  "  pung  "  to  coast  down  the  steep 
hill  below  his  house,  the  recklessness  of  the  venture  only  adding  the 
greater  zest  to  its  enjoyment.  On  another  occasion  he  led  his  fol- 
lowers to  the  cattle  sheds  of  the  Squire,  where  they  quietly  climbed 
up  on  the  empty  rafters,  and  then  of  a  sudden  raised  the  most  awful 
whoops  and  yells,  at  the  same  time  jumping  about  on  the  loose 
planks.  The  effect  of  this  tumult  upon  a  lot  of  young  steers  may 
be  better  imagined  than  described,  and  the  rush  of  the  animals 
through  the  barnyard  fences  gave  the  youngsters  occupation  suited 
exactly  to  their  tastes.  Of  course,  no  one  knew  who  was  to  blame 
for  the  stampede,  for,  before  the  Squire  could  reach  the  barn,  there 
were  no  boys  in  sight,  and  in  the  "  round  up  "  of  the  cattle  young 
Dwight  was  the  most  indignant  at  the  inexcusable  vandalism  of  the 
act. 

The  "  Closing  Exercises  "  in  the  district  school  was  an  event  of 
great  local  importance  to  the  younger  element,  and  Dwight  was  not 
the  boy  to  let  pass  such  an  opportunity  for  some  unusual  excite- 
ment. On  one  such  occasion  he  was  to  give  as  a  recitation  Mark 
Antony's  oration  over  Julius  Caesar,  and  to  add,  as  was  supposed,  to 
the  dramatic  effect  introduced  a  small  box  to  represent  the  coffin  of 
the  illustrious  dead.  The  teacher's  desk  served  as  a  bier  upon  which 
this  rested,  and  as  the  eloquence  of  the  orator  found  added  expres- 
sion in  extravagant  gestures  the  lid  of  the  box  was  knocked  off,  and 
out  jumped  a  very  frightened  old  tom-cat.  The  scene  which  followed 
had  just  the  effect  "  Mark  Antony  "  seemed  to  have  aimed  at,  for 
though  the  stones  of  Rome  did  not  rise,  every  animate  being  in  the 
room  did. 

Even  simpler  tricks  delighted  him.     Once  \vhen  asked  to  hand  a 


30  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

jug  of  cider  to  a  farmer  in  his  wagon,  Dwight,  who  was  then  working 
on  the  farm,  intending,  indeed,  to  go  home  in  that  very  wagon,  waited 
only  till  the  jug  was  at  the  farmer's  lips  to  startle  the  horses  so  that 
their  sudden  jump  unseated  the  driver,  who  fell  back  into  the  bottom 
of  the  wagon,  unable  to  rise  and  equally  unwilling  to  relinquish  the 
jug,  which  would  have  drenched  him  had  he  taken  it  from  his  lips. 

Dwight's  busy  hand  and  brain  were  always  occupied,  and  he  wanted 
to  see  others  busy  too.  In  those  younger  days  he  seemed  to  love 
the  excitement  of  a  crowd,  and  once  when  an  unusually  uneventful 
winter  had  dragged  by  he  decided  that  "  something  must  be  done." 
This  he  arranged  without  conference  with  any  one,  not  daring  to 
trust  his  closest  friend.  Writing  out  an  announcement  for  a  tem- 
perance meeting  to  be  addressed  by  an  out-of-town  lecturer,  he 
posted  it  on  the  district  schoolhouse  door.  On  the  evening  an- 
nounced there  was  quite  a  gathering  in  the  schoolhouse,  which  was 
warmed  and  lighted  for  the  occasion,  but  no  lecturer  put  in  an 
appearance,  and  Dwight,  with  the  others,  scolded  the  practical  joker, 
whom  no  one  could  discover. 

For  such  mischief  he  frequently  received  a  double  chastisement, 
first  at  the  hands  of  the  school  teacher  and  afterward  from  his  mother; 
for,  according  to  the  strange  reasoning  of  that  day,  it  was  thought 
that  if  the  boy  was  so  naughty  in  school  as  to  be  punished,  the  same 
offence  called  loudly  upon  the  mother  also  not  to  "  spare  the  rod  and 
spoil  the  child."  But  evidently  Dwight  thought  the  fun  was  worth 
the  whipping,  for  his  love  of  practical  jokes  never  grew  less.  It 
should  be  said,  however,  that  when  the  joke  was  at  his  own  expense 
he  enjoyed  it  just  as  much.  For,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  No  man  has 
a  right  to  play  a  joke  unless  he's  willing  to  take  one." 

A  new  teacher  came  at  last  to  the  little  school,  and  another  order 
of  things  appeared.  To  begin  with,  she  opened  the  exercises  with 
prayer,  which  greatly  impressed  the  boys,  and  when  later  she  an- 
nounced that  she  proposed  to  rule  the  school  without  the  old-fash- 
ioned whippings,  their  astonishment  was  increased.  It  was  not  long 


Leaving  Home  31 

before  young  Dwight  had  broken  a  rule,  and  with  the  summons  to 
"  remain  after  school,"  he  expected  the  customary  punishment  and 
immediately  assumed  the  attitude  of  injured  innocence.  To  his  sur- 
prise, when  they  were  alone,  the  teacher  began  to  talk  kindly  to  him 
and  to  tell  him  how  sorry  she  was  to  have  him  disobey.  This  treat- 
ment was  worse  than  the  rattan  cane,  and  Dwight  did  not  like  it. 
After  telling  him  how  it  grieved  her  to  find  that  he  could  not  be 
trusted,  the  teacher  said : 

"  I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  if  I  cannot  rule  the  school  by  love, 
I  will  give  it  up.  I  will  have  no  punishment.  If  you  love  me,  try 
to  keep  the  rules  and  help  me  in  the  school." 

This  was  too  much  for  Dwight,  and  where  law  had  failed  grace 
had  a  complete  victory. 

"  You  will  never  have  any  more  trouble  with  me,"  he  answered, 
capitulating,  "  and  I  will  whack  the  first  boy  that  makes  you  any 
trouble !  "  And  "  whack  "  him  he  did  the  very  next  day,  to  the  sur- 
prise of  his  companions  and  to  the  consternation  of  the  teacher. 

"  Swapping  "  is  a  Yankee  weakness,  and  in  common  with  other 
boys  Dwight  was  keen  on  a  bargain.  Sentiment  in  those  youthful 
days  was  less  pronounced  than  the  love  of  a  trade,  for  he  bought  off 
with  a  broken  slate  pencil'  the  affections  of  a  rival  suitor  for  a  little 
companion.  But  it  was  more  especially  to  shrewdness  in  horse- 
trading  that  Dwight  aspired,  and  at  the  earliest  opportunity  he 
earned  his  title  for  it.  The  older  brother,  George,  who  had  fathered 
the  younger  children  and  conducted  the  farm,  was  away  from  home 
one  day,  when  a  party  of  gypsies  came  along.  As  usual,  they  had 
a  number  of  horses  to  trade,  and  Dwight,  who  was  only  ten  years  old 
at  the  time,  was  alive  to  business. 

The  farm-horse  in  the  possession  of  the  family  at  this  time  was  old 
and  lazy  enough,  and  Dwight  reasoned  that  in  an  exchange  he 
couldn't  get  a  worse  animal,  so  he  challenged  the  gypsies  to  a  trade. 
Before  any  of  the  family  knew  it  he  had  made  what  actually  proved 
to  be  a  good  bargain,  though  the  new  horse  was  a  lank,  raw-boned 


32  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

animal  with  a  docked  tail.  The  consciousness  of  his  success  filled  him 
with  pride.  On  the  first  occasion  after  the  new  horse  had  been 
duly  tested,  Dwight  harnessed  him  into  a  wagon,  and  taking  an  empty 
barrel  for  a  seat,  started  to  mill  for  the  weekly  supply  of  meal.  The 
new  horse  seemed  to  rise  to  the  occasion.  He  started  briskly  down 
the  hill  and  all  too  swiftly  around  the  corner,  leaving  the  barrel  and 
its  occupant  by  the  roadside. 

When  Dwight  grew  older  he  found  employment,  like  his  brothers, 
in  neighboring  towns.  His  first  experience  was  never  forgotten,  and 
the  homesickness  that  came  with  the  first  separation  from  his  family 
left  a  lasting  impression. 

"  There  were  nine  of  us  children/'  he  said  in  describing  this,  "  and 
my  widowed  mother  had  very  great  difficulty  in  keeping  the  wolf 
from  the  door.  My  next  older  brother  had  found  a  place  for  me  to 
work  during  the  winter  months  in  a  neighboring  village  about  thir- 
teen miles  away,  and  early  one  November  morning  we  started  out 
together  on  our  dismal  journey.  Do  you  know,  November  has  been 
a  dreary  month  to  me  ever  since  ?  As  we  passed  over  the  river  and 
up  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  we  turned  to  look  back  for  a  last 
view  of  home.  It  was  to  be  my  last  for  weeks,  for  months,  perhaps 
forever,  and  my  heart  well-nigh  broke  at  the  thought.  That  was  the 
longest  journey  I  ever  took,  for  thirteen  miles  was  more  to  me  at 
ten  than  the  world's  circumference  has  ever  been  since. 

"  When  at  last  we  arrived  in  the  town  I  had  hard  work  to  keep 
back  my  tears,  and  my  brother  had  to  do  his  best  to  cheer  me. 
Suddenly  he  pointed  to  some  one  and  said : 

'  There's  a  man  that'll  give  you  a  cent;  he  gives  one  to  every  new 
boy  that  comes  to  town.'  He  was  a  feeble,  old,  white-haired  man, 
and  I  was  so  afraid  that  he  would  pass  me  by  that  I  planted  myself 
directly  in  his  path.  As  he  came  up  to  us  my  brother  spoke  to  him, 
and  he  stopped  and  looked  at  me.  '  Why,  I  have  never  seen  you 
before.  You  must  be  a  new  boy,'  he  said.  He  asked  me  about  my 
home,  and  then,  laying  his  trembling  hand  upon  my  head,  he  told 


DWIGHT  L.  MOODY  AT  THE  TIME  OF  LEAVING  HOME  FOR  BOSTON. 


Leaving  Home  35 

me  that,  although  I  had  no  earthly  father,  my  Heavenly  Father  loved 
me,  and  then  he  gave  me  a  bright  new  cent.  I  do  not  remember 
what  became  of  that  cent,  but  that  old  man's  blessing  has  followed 
me  for  over  fifty  years,  and  to  my  dying  day  I  shall  feel  the  kindly 
pressure  of  that  hand  upon  my  head.  A  loving  deed  costs  very  little, 
but  done  in  the  name  of  Christ  it  will  be  eternal." 

A  few  years  later  he  tried  to  get  employment  in  Clinton,  Mass., 
and  found  an  engagement  in  a  printing  establishment.  His  first  task 
was  to  address  by  hand,  from  the  mailing  list,  the  wrappers  of  a  local 
paper.  To  the  country  lad  who  knew  nothing  of  crowded  streets  or 
houses  containing  several  tenements  the  half-numbers  of  some  of  the 
addresses  had  no  meaning,  and  such  a  street  address  he  set  down  to 
the  next  number  beyond.  This  naturally  caused  confusion,  and  when 
the  mistake  was  traced  to  young  Moody  he  was  discharged.  Again 
he  went  home,  and  for  a  time  worked  on  the  neighboring  farms.  But 
his  ambition  had  been  roused,  and  he  realized  the  greater  possibilities 
and  opportunities  of  a  larger  sphere.  While  cutting  and  hauling  logs 
on  the  mountain  side  with  his  brother  Edwin  one  day  in  the  early 
spring  of  1854,  he  exclaimed,  in  his  characteristically  abrupt  manner: 

"  I'm  tired  of  this !  I'm  not  going  to  stay  around  here  any  longer. 
I'm  going  to  the  city." 

The  family  had  been  strongly  opposed  to  his  going  to  Boston,  as 
no  one  believed  that  he  had  any  special  qualification  for  a  successful 
career  in  the  city.  The  cities,  they  understood,  were  full  of  young 
men  looking  for  positions,  while  at  Northfield  he  was  at  least  assured 
of  steady  work  on  the  farms.  But  young  Moody  had  made  up  his 
mind  that  the  one  thing  for  him  to  do  was  to  go  to  Boston  and,  in 
spite  of  all  obstacles,  make  a  career  for  himself. 

Saying  good-bye  to  his  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  family,  he  started 
from  home  without  any  very  definite  plans  as  to  how  he  should  get 
to  Boston,  but  determined  to  go  even  if  he  had  to  walk  every  step  of 
the  hundred  miles.  Half-way  between  his  home  and  the  depot  he 
met  his  older  brother  George,  who  inquired  where  he  was  going. 


36  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Dwight  said  he  was  on  his  way  to  Boston  to  make  his  living  in  what- 
ever business  he  found  he  was  best  suited  for.  Seeing  that  it  was 
useless  to  try  to  discourage  him,  his  brother  gave  him  five  dollars, 
which  was  just  enough  to  carry  him  to  the  city,  where  he  arrived 
with  nothing  to  live  on  while  he  was  looking  for  work. 

For  several  days  young  Moody  experienced  the  same  bitter  disap- 
pointment that  so  many  other  young  men  have  known  in  like  circum- 
stances. Although  he  had  two  uncles  in  the  retail  boot  and  shoe 
business  in  the  city,  they  made  no  offer  to  give  him  work.  When 
asked  by  these  uncles  how  he  thought  he  could  get  a  start,  Dwight 
replied  that  he  wanted  to  work,  and  he  "  guessed  "  he  could  find  a 
position.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  consciousness  of  his  awkwardness 
may  have  given  the  country  boy  that  appearance  of  a  false  inde- 
pendence which  prejudiced  his  relatives  against  him. 

Long  afterward,  when  preaching  in  Boston,  he  described  with  deep 
feeling  those  days  of  suffering.  "  I  remember  how  I  walked  up  and 
down  the  streets  trying  to  find  a  situation,"  he  said,  "  and  I  recollect 
how,  when  they  answered  me  roughly,  their  treatment  would  chill  my 
soul.  But  when  some  one  would  say : '/  feel  for  you ;  I  would  like  to 
help  you,  but  I  can't ;  but  you'll  be  all  right  soon ! '  I  went  away 
happy  and  light-hearted.  That  man's  sympathy  did  me  good. 

"  It  seemed  as  if  there  was  room  for  every  one  else  in  the  world, 
but  none  for  me.  For  about  two  days  I  had  the  feeling  that  no  one 
wanted  me.  I  never  have  had  it  since,  and  I  never  want  it  again.  It 
is  an  awful  feeling.  It  seems  to  me  that  must  have  been  the  feeling 
of  the  Son  of  God  when  He  was  down  here.  They  did  not  want  Him. 
He  had  come  to  save  men,  and  they  did  not  want  to  be  saved.  He 
had  come  to  lift  men  up,  and  they  did  not  want  to  be  lifted  up.  There 
was  no  room  for  Him  in  this  world,  and  there  is  no  room  for  Him 
yet. 

"  I  went  to  the  post-office  two  or  three  times  a  day  to  see  if  there 
was  a  letter  for  me.  I  knew  there  was  not,  as  there  was  but  one  mail 
a  day  from  Northfield.  I  had  no  employment  and  was  very  home- 


Leaving  Home  37 

sick,  and  so  I  went  constantly  to  the  post-office,  thinking  perhaps  that 
when  the  mail  had  come  in  my  letter  had  been  mislaid.  At  last,  how- 
ever, I  got  a  letter,  It  was  from  my  youngest  sister — the  first  letter 
she  ever  wrote  me.  I  opened  it  with  a  light  heart,  thinking  there 
was  some  good  news  from  home,  but  the  burden  of  the  whole  letter 
was  that  she  had  heard  there  were  pickpockets  in  Boston,  and  warned 
me  to  beware  of  them.  I  thought  that  I  had  better  get  some  money 
in  hand  first,  and  then  I  might  look  out  for  pickpockets ! " 

At  the  end  of  a  week  he  was  utterly  discouraged.  There  seemed 
nothing  for  him  in  Boston,  and  he  announced  his  purpose  of  trying 
what  he  could  do  in  New  York. 

At  first  his  attitude  toward  his  uncles  had  been  the  independent 
one  of  waiting  for  them  to  offer  him  work,  and  when  advised  to  ask 
them  for  employment  himself  he  said :  "  They  know  I  am  looking 
for  work  and  they  may  help  me  or  not  as  they  please."  But  at  length 
his  pride  gave  way  under  the  dreadful  sense  of  being  adrift  in  a 
world  that  seemed  to  care  nothing  for  him.  Learning  of  his  changed 
state  of  mind,  one  of  his  uncles  ventured  to  offer  him  a  little  advice, 
telling  him  that  his  self-will  was  greatly  in  his  way,  that  modesty  was 
sometimes  as  needful  as  courage,  and  suggesting  that  his  uncle 
Samuel  Holton  would  no  doubt  be  glad  to  do  something  for  him 
if  he  would  show  himself  a  little  more  willing  to  be  governed  by 
people  who  were  older  and  wiser  than  himself.  Dwight  demurred,  say- 
ing his  uncle  Samuel  knew  perfectly  well  what  he  wanted.  But  the 
uncle  insisted,  so  that  at  last  the  boy  asked  for  a  place  in  the  shoe  shop. 

"  Dwight,  I  am  afraid  if  you  come  in  here  you  will  want  to  run  the 
store  yourself,"  said  Mr.  Holton.  "  Now,  my  men  here  want  to  do 
their  work  as  I  want  it  done.  If  you  want  to  come  in  here  and  do 
the  best  you  can  and  do  it  right,  and  if  you'll  be  willing  to  ask  when- 
ever you  don't  know,  and  if  you  promise  to  go  to  church  and  Sunday- 
school,  and  if  you  will  not  go  anywhere  that  you  wouldn't  want  your 
mother  to  know  about,  we'll  see  how  we  can  get  along.  You  can 
have  till  Monday  to  think  it  over." 


38  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  I  don't  want  till  Monday,"  was  the  prompt  response.  "  I'll  prom- 
ise now." 

Young  Moody  had  little  acquaintance  with  city  ways  and  city  man- 
ners, but  it  soon  became  evident  that  he  was  by  natural  wit  and  bright- 
ness one  of  the  best  of  salesmen.  With  his  keen  perception  and 
irrepressible  energy  he  made  an  unusual  success  of  the  work. 

He  was  not  satisfied  with  the  ordinary  methods  of  the  salesman, 
and,  like  the  merchants  of  old,  he  cried  his  wares  before  the  door,  and 
actually  went  out  into  the  street  to  persuade  uninterested  passers 
that  they  wanted  to  buy.  Nothing  delighted  him  so  much  as  a  suc- 
cess of  this  kind,  and  that  he  had  many  is  not  surprising. 

His  new  occupation,  far  from  lessening  his  love  of  practical  joking, 
seemed  to  make  it  keener.  Always  on  the  lookout  for  some  one 
whom  he  could  tease,  he  found  a  tempting  victim  in  a  cobbler  who 
worked  in  the  store.  One  day  in  his  absence  young  Moody,  with  a 
sharp  knife,  made  a  clean  slit  in  the  leather  seat  of  the  cobbler's  box. 
Then  taking  a  pan  of  water,  he  set  it  under  the  box  so  that  the  cob- 
bler's weight  would  bring  the  seat  in  contact  with  the  water,  which, 
of  course,  would  rise  through  the  cut.  Having  set  his  trap,  the 
joker  awaited  the  result.  Presently  the  cobbler  came  in  and  sat 
down.  The  effect  may  be  imagined.  The  victim  took  his  seat  only 
to  jump  up  hurriedly,  but  as  soon  as  the  leather  was  relieved  of  his 
weight  the  hole  closed,  and  after  wiping  the  seat  dry  he  again  seated 
himself  to  begin  his  work.  It  was  not  till  the  third  or  fourth  time 
that  he  discovered  the  trouble,  and  Moody  had  to  make  a  hurried 
escape. 

This  was  the  nonsense  of  a  lively  boy  of  seventeen,  but  from  that 
harmless  love  of  fooling  the  happy  geniality  of  the  mature  man  was 
to  result.  This  sense  of  humor,  this  healthy  appreciation  of  the  ridic- 
ulous, is  the  very  salt  of  a  great  temperament.  Such  a  man,  how- 
ever intense,  can  never  be  a  fanatic,  and  the  people — the  men  in  the 
street — feel  this  instantly. 


CHAPTER    III 
CONVERSION 

IN  accordance  with-  the  agreement  by  which  he  entered  his  uncle's 
employment,  Moody  became  a  regular  attendant  of  the  Mount 
Vernon  Congregational  Church,  of  which  the  well-known  Dr. 
Edward  N.  Kirk  was  the  pastor.  He  was  also  enrolled  as  a  member 
of  the  Sunday-school,  where  he  was  assigned  to  a  young  men's  Bible 
class  conducted  by  Mr.  Edward  Kimball. 

The  Bible  was  not  a  familiar  book  to  the  new  student,  for  in  his 
home,  though  he  had  always  lived  in  a  truly  Christian  atmosphere, 
there  was  only  one  copy  of  God's  Word,  and  that  a  ponderous  family 
Bible,  too  sacred  for  the  inquisitiveness  of  the  little  children,  and 
too  uninviting  in  its  massive  appearance  for  the  older  ones.  So  when 
some  reference  was  made  to  a  chapter  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  the 
young  man  began  to  search  the  Old  Testament  industriously,  and  but 
for  the  kindness  of  the  teacher,  who  quickly  perceived  the  difficulty 
and  offered  him  his  Bible,  the  boy's  embarrassment  would  have  been 
painful. 

By  giving  close  attention,  however,  he  soon  began  to  take  that  deep 
interest  in  Bible  study  which,  increasing  with  his  years,  soon  de- 
veloped into  a  reverential  love.  Many  years  later,  wishing  to  give  a 
token  of  special  value  to  his  first  grandchild,  he  sent  a  beautiful  copy 
of  the  Bible  with  this  inscription : 

"  The  Bible  for  the  last  forty  years  has  been  the  dearest  thing  on 
earth  to  me,  and  now  I  give  a  copy  as  my  first  gift  to  my  first  grand- 
child, Irene  Moody,  with  a  prayer  that  it  may  be  her  companion 


4<D  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

through  life  and  guide  her  to  those  mansions  that  Christ  has  gone  to 
prepare  for  those  who  love  and  serve  Him  on  earth.  D.  L.  Moody." 

Realizing  his  disadvantage  in  not  having  a  greater  familiarity  with 
the  Bible  text,  he  seldom  took  an  active  part  in  the  class  at  first.  But 
at  times  his  interest  would  betray  him,  and  he  would  ask  a  question 
that  showed  his  clear  grasp  of  the  subject.  On  one  occasion  the 
teacher  was  depicting  Moses  as  a  man  of  great  natural  ability,  self- 
control,  and  statesmanlike  foresight  and  wisdom.  There  was  just 
one  word  in  the  young  clerk's  mind  that  was  sufficiently  compre- 
hensive for  such  a  character,  and  with  a  naive  earnestness  he  ex- 
claimed : 

"  Say,  Mr.  Kimball,  that  man  Moses  must  have  been  smart"  In 
that  one  word  "  smart  "  was  included  the  New  England  lad's  con- 
ception of  all  that  was  comprehended  by  native  ability  and  intellectual 
endowment  without  the  sense  of  a  discreditable  shrewdness. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  what  may  be  termed  a  religious 
man  and  an  earnest  Christian;  just  such  a  difference,  in  fact,  as  dis- 
tinguished Saul  of  Tarsus  and  the  Apostle  Paul.  In  the  former  the 
life  is  regulated  to  a  degree  by  external  authority — "  thou  shalt  "  and 
"  thou  shalt  not  " ;  in  the  latter  a  new  bias  is  given  to  the  life  itself, 
bringing  it  into  harmony  with  God's  will,  and  the  precepts  of  the 
external  law  are  merged  in  the  greater  law  of  love  to  God  and  man. 
The  former  is  cold,  cheerless,  and  intolerant,  only  too  often  unavailing 
in  severe  temptation,  and  frequently  expressing  itself  in  formalism 
and  pharisaism.  The  latter  is  a  vital  force  making  the  soul  stronger 
through  temptation,  and  by  unselfish  service  to  others  radiating  love 
and  joy  throughout  society. 

By  his  early  training  Mr.  Moody  was  religious,  but  he  had  never 
experienced  the  regenerating  work  of  God's  Spirit  by  a  definite  ac- 
ceptance of  Christ.  In  theory  he  knew  that  giving  way  to  a  violent 
temper  was  wrong,  but  in  his  self-will  he  found  it  hard  to  yield  to 
restraint.  "  It  was  not  more  ethics  he  needed,  but  greater  dynamics." 
But  in  the  Mount  Vernon  Sunday-school  his  Bible-class  teacher  had 


Conversion  41 

been  gradually  leading  the  young  man  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  God's 
plan  of  salvation,  until  it  needed  only  an  additional  personal  interview 
to  bring  him  to  that  decision  of  the  will  which  should  determine 
whether  he  would  accept  or  reject  God's  provision  for  overcoming  sin 
and  entering  into  harmony  with  Himself.  The  opportunity  for  this 
interview  was  not  a  chance  event,  but  one  carefully  and  prayerfully 
sought  by  Mr.  Kimball,  who  thus  relates  the  story  of  Dwight  L. 
Moody's  conversion: 

"  I  determined  to  speak  to  him  about  Christ  and  about  his  soul,  and 
started  down  to  Holton's  shoe  store.  When  I  was  nearly  there  I 
began  to  wonder  whether  I  ought  to  go  in  just  then  during  business 
hours.  I  thought  that  possibly  my  call  might  embarrass  the  boy, 
and  that  when  I  went  away  the  other  clerks  would  ask  who  I  was,  and 
taunt  him  with  my  efforts  in  trying  to  make  him  a  good  boy.  In  the 
meantime  I  had  passed  the  store,  and,  discovering  this,  I  determined 
to  make  a  dash  for  it  and  have  it  over  at  once.  I  found  Moody  in  the 
back  part  of  the  building  wrapping  up  shoes.  I  went  up  to  him  at 
once,  and  putting  my  hand  on  his  shoulder,  I  made  what  I  afterwards 
felt  was  a  very  weak  plea  for  Christ.  I  don't  know  just  what  words 
I  used,  nor  could  Mr.  Moody  tell.  I  simply  told  him  of  Christ's  love 
for  him  and  the  love  Christ  wanted  in  return.  That  was  all  there 
was.  It  seemed  the  young  man  was  just  ready  for  the  light  that  then 
broke  upon  him,  and  there,  in  the  back  of  that  store  in  Boston,  he 
gave  himself  and  his  life  to  Christ." 

From  the  moment  that  Moody  accepted  Christ  his  whole  life 
changed.  The  merely  passive  religious  life  that  suffered  the  restric- 
tions of  the  moral  law  suddenly  became  a  life  of  joyful  service. 
Whereas  church  attendance  had  been  observed  simply  because  it 
was  a  duty,  from  this  time  forth  for  nearly  fifty  years  he  found  his 
greatest  joy  in  the  service  of  his  God. 

"  Before  my  conversion,"  as  he  himself  used  to  express  it,  "  I 
worked  towards  the  Cross,  but  since  then  I  have  worked  from  the 
Cross ;  then  I  worked  to  be  saved,  now  I  work  because  I  am  saved." 


42  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Forty  years  afterward,  preaching  in  Boston,  he  thus  described  the 
effect  of  his  conversion  upon  his  life : 

"  I  can  almost  throw  a  stone  from  Tremont  Temple  to  the  spot 
where  I  found  God  over  forty  years  ago.  I  wish  I  could  do  some- 
thing to  lead  some  of  you  young  men  to  that  same  God.  He  has 
been  a  million  times  better  to  me  than  I  have  been  to  Him. 

"  I  remember  the  morning  on  which  I  came  out  of  my  room  after 
I  had  first  trusted  Christ.  I  thought  the  old  sun  shone  a  good  deal 
brighter  than  it  ever  had  before — I  thought  that  it  was  just  smiling 
upon  me;  and  as  I  walked  out  upon  Boston  Common  and  heard  the 
birds  singing  in  the  trees  I  thought  they  were  all  singing  a  song  to 
me.  Do  you  know,  I  fell  in  love  with  the  birds.  I  had  never  cared 
for  them  before.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  in  love  with  all  creation. 
I  had  not  a  bitter  feeling  against  any  man,  and  I  was  ready  to  take 
all  men  to  my  heart.  If  a  man  has  not  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  his  heart,  he  has  never  been  regenerated.  If  you  hear  a  person 
get  up  in  the  prayer-meeting  and  he  begins  to  find  fault  with  every- 
body, you  may  doubt  whether  his  is  a  genuine  conversion;  it  may  be 
counterfeit.  It  has  not  the  right  ring,  because  the  impulse  of  a  con- 
verted soul  is  to  love,  and  not  to  be  getting  up  and  complaining  of 
every  one  else  and  finding  fault." 

Bread  cast  upon  the  waters  returns  again,  and  the  Bible-class 
teacher  received  a  blessing  in  his  own  household,  seventeen  years 
later,  in  the  conversion  of  his  own  son.  Mr.  Kimball's  eldest  son  was 
visiting  an  uncle  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  while  Mr.  Moody  was  con- 
ducting a  mission  in  that  city.  After  one  of  the  services  young  Kim- 
ball  introduced  himself  to  Mr.  Moody  as  the  son  of  his  old  Bible-class 
teacher. 

"  What !  are  you  the  son  of  Mr.  Edward  Kimball,  of  Boston  ? 
What  is  your  name?  " 

"  Henry." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you.     Henry,  are  you  a  Christian  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,  I  do  not  think  I  am." 


Conversion  43 

"How  old  are  you?" 

"  I  am  seventeen." 

"  Henry,  when  I  was  just  seventeen,  and  you  were  a  little  baby 
in  the  crib,  your  father  came  to  me  and  put  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
and  asked  me  to  be  a  Christian,  and  he  was  the  only  man  that  ever 
came  to  me  and  talked  to  me,  because  he  loved  my  soul ;  and  now  I 
want  you,  my  boy,  to  be  a  Christian.  Henry,  don't  you  want  to  be  a 
Christian  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  think  I  do,"  said  the  boy. 

They  sat  down  together,  and  Mr.  Moody  opened  his  Bible,  the  boy 
listening  attentively  to  the  words  that  impressed  him  more  and  more, 
till  at  length  they  brought  him  to  where  their  speaker  had  been  him- 
self led  so  long  ago. 

After  his  conversion  young  Moody  was  no  less  energetic  and 
ambitious  in  the  interests  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  than  he  had  been  in 
business.  His  vigorous  and  irrepressible  spirit  was  looked  upon 
with  misgivings  by  some  of  the  elder  members  of  the  church.  In 
the  first  glad  joy  of  his  Christian  experience  he  longed  for  some 
channel  into  which  he  might  direct  his  energies  and  share  in  the  for- 
warding of  the  Kingdom.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  mistake  that  the  young 
convert  was  not  set  to  work  and  directed  how  to  serve  the  cause  most 
efficiently,  in  his  own  particular  way.  But  the  conservative  deacons 
could  not  know  that  the  zeal  so  unnecessarily  directed  toward  them 
could  have  been  turned  with  practical  results  in  other  directions,  un- 
dreamed of  by  them,  and  their  attitude  was  one  of  a  somewhat  natural 
repression. 

In  May,  1855,  young  Moody  presented  himself  for  membership  in 
the  Mount  Vernon  Church,  from  the  records  of  which  the  following 
minute  is  taken: 

"  No.  1,079.  Dwight  L.  Moody.  Boards,  43  Court  Street.  Has 
been  baptized.  First  awakened  on  the  i6th  of  May.  Became 
anxious  about  himself.  Saw  himself  a  sinner,  and  sin  now  seems 
hateful  and  holiness  desirable.  Thinks  he  has  repented;  has  pur- 


44  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

posed  to  give  up  sin;  feels  dependent  upon  Christ  for  forgiveness. 
Loves  the  Scriptures.  Prays.  Desires  to  be  useful.  Religiously 
educated.  Been  in  the  city  a  year.  From  Northfield,  this  State. 
Is  not  ashamed  to  be  known  as  a  Christian.  Eighteen  years  old." 

At  this  examination,  however,  it  was  felt  that  the  applicant  was 
not  sufficiently  instructed  in  Christian  doctrine  to  be  taken  into  mem- 
bership. In  answer  to  the  question :  "  What  has  Christ  done  for 
you,  and  for  us  all,  that  especially  entitles  Him  to  our  love  and 
obedience?  "  Young  Moody  replied:  "  I  think  He  has  done  a  great 
deal  for  us  all,  but  I  don't  know  of  anything  He  has  done  in  par- 
ticular." 

Nothing,  therefore,  was  elicited  at  this  examination  that  was  in 
those  days  considered  satisfactory  evidence  of  conversion.  Under 
the  circumstances  the  committee  deferred  recommending  him  for 
admission  to  the  church,  but  three  of  their  number  were  appointed 
to  take  care  of  his  case,  and  to  explain  to  him  more  perfectly  the  way 
of  God. 

The  action  of  the  examining  committee  in  refusing  admission  to 
young  Moody  on  this  occasion  has  been  criticised  by  others,  but  the 
wisdom  of  the  decision  was  always  felt  by  Mr.  Moody  himself,  who  in 
later  years  laid  great  emphasis  upon  a  young  convert's  being  ready 
to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  was  in  him.  Upon  his  second 
examination  he  was  recommended  for  membership,  and  the  follow- 
ing minute  was  recorded : 

"  No.  1,131.  March  12,  1856.  Mr.  Moody  thinks  he  has  made 
some  progress  since  he  was  here  before — at  least  in  knowledge.  Has 
maintained  his  habits  of  prayer  and  reading  the  Bible.  Believes  God 
will  hear  his  prayers,  and  reads  the  Bible.  Is  fully  determined  to 
adhere  to  the  cause  of  Christ  always.  Feels  that  it  would  be  very  bad 
if  he  should  join  the  church  and  then  turn.  Must  repent  and  ask 
forgiveness,  for  Christ's  sake.  Will  never  give  up  his  hope,  or  love 
Christ  less,  whether  admitted  to  the  church  or  not.  His  prevailing 
intention  is  to  give  up  his  will  to  God." 


Conversion 


45 


"  In  a  few  days  Moody  was  among  the  inquirers  after  the  way  of 
life,"  writes  Dr.  Kirk  with  reference  to  Moody's  conversion.  "  He 
soon  avowed  himself  as  a  candidate  for  church  membership ;  he  dis- 
played nothing  but  his  earnestness  and  want  of  acquaintance  with 
the  Scriptural  views  of  Christian  character  and  life;  or,  more  prob- 
ably, his  case  was  an  instance  showing  that  we,  his  examiners,  were 
too  far  bound  by  routine  and  wanting  in  sympathy  with  Him  who 
was  then  laying  the  foundation  of  the  temple  of  God  in  that  human 
soul.  We  could  not  conscientiously  propose  him  to  the  church. 
Disappointed,  but  not  discouraged,  he  awaited  through  one  or  two 
terms.  At  last  we  saw  some  faint  evidences  of  conversion  which 
justified  us  in  recommending  him  to  the  church." 

At  first  Mr.  Moody  questioned  the  result  his  new  life  would  have 
upon  his  business  prospects.  From  the  very  beginning  he  had  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  with  characteristic  energy,  and  in  three  months' 
time  he  had  sold  more  goods  than  any  one  of  his  fellow-clerks.  He 
had  thought  that  truthfulness  might  be  a  hindrance  to  his  success. 
But  he  soon  found  that  Christian  principles  were  an  aid  rather  than 
an  obstacle  in  a  successful  business  career.  Customers,  finding  that 
they  could  implicitly  rely  on  his  word,  preferred  to  deal  with  him,  and 
his  popularity  with  them  steadily  increased. 

Thus  for  two  years  he  continued  to  work  in  Boston,  when  he  began 
to  feel  that  greater  opportunities  might  await  him  in  a  larger  sphere. 
His  position  in  his  uncle's  store  seemed  to  offer  little  promise  for  the 
future;  for,  with  extremely  conservative  methods,  his  uncle  did  not 
feel  the  same  enthusiasm  that  fired  the  young  man.  Just  at  that  time 
Chicago,  the  new  city  of  the  Western  prairies,  was  attracting  the 
young  men  of  the  Eastern  States.  Moody,  with  others,  felt  the  attrac- 
tion of  its  appeal,  and  without  telling  any  one  of  his  purpose,  he 
decided  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  new  West. 


CHAPTER    IV 
IN  BUSINESS  IN  CHICAGO 

"  T  HAVE  always  been  a  man  of  impulse,"  Mr.  Moody  once  said 

to  the  writer.     "  Almost  everything  I  ever  did  in  my  life 

that  was  a  success  was  done  on  the  impulse,  and  I  suppose 

when  I  get  ready  to  die  I  will  be  up  and  off."     In  seeking  his  fortune 

in  the  West  he  displayed  this  characteristic  impulsiveness. 

For  some  months  he  had  fretted  under  the  conservative  methods 
of  the  business  house  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  had  longed  to 
enter  a  larger  sphere  of  activity,  and  when  a  crisis  finally  came  in  his 
relations  with  his  employer,  and  there  seemed  little  opportunity  for 
advancement,  he  decided  to  go  to  Chicago. 

Fearing  that  this  change  would  not  be  approved  by  his  family,  he 
thought  it  wise  not  to  consult  with  them  on  the  subject,  and  their 
first  news  of  it  was  in  a  letter  written  from  the  Western  city  a  thou- 
sand miles  away.  For  all  these  years  the  mother  had  striven  to  keep 
her  little  family  near  her,  as  if,  with  that  unreasoning  conceit  of 
mothers  which  makes  their  love  unique  because  it  is  a  law  unto  itself, 
she  could  have  guarded  her  sons  from  all  evil  and  watched  over 
them  with  the  same  solicitude  as  in  babyhood.  That  thousand  miles 
to  Chicago  seemed  a  cruel  distance  to  her,  and  it  was  a  long  time 
before  her  heart  became  reconciled.  During  the  succeeding  years 
she  followed  her  son's  course  with  her  prayers,  and  when  the  neigh- 
bors noted  how,  on  winter  evenings,  "  Widow  Moody's  "  light  burned 
late,  they  knew  she  was  praying  for  her  son  far  away. 

Young  Moody  arrived  in  Chicago  in  the  early  autumn  of  1856.     At 


In  Business  in  Chicago  47 

first  he  encountered  the  same  difficulty  in  securing  employment  which 
had  so  tried  his  fortitude  two  years  before  in  Boston.  In  two  days, 
however,  he  secured  a  position  that  promised  greater  opportunities 
than  the  one  he  left,  and  from  the  very  first  his  energy  and  keen  busi- 
ness judgment  were  rewarded  by  a  steady  increase  in  responsibility 
and  income. 

The  same  earnest  Christian  spirit  that  had  shown  itself  in  Boston 
dominated  his  life  in  Chicago,  and  on  his  arrival,  as  his  letters  prove, 
he  promptly  associated  himself  with  Christian  people.  Writing  to 
his  mother  under  date  of  September  25,  1856,  he  says: 

"  I  reached  this  far-famed  city  of  the  West  one  week  ago  to-night. 
.  .  .  I  went  into  a  prayer-meeting  last  night,  and  as  soon  as  I 
made  myself  known,  I  had  friends  enough.  After  meeting  they  came 
to  me  and  seemed  to  be  as  glad  to  see  me  as  if  I  were  their  earthly 
brother.  God  is  the  same  here  as  He  was  in  Boston,  and  in  Him  I 
can  find  peace." 

Having  placed  his  letter  from  the  Mount  Vernon  Church  with  the 
Plymouth  Church,  of  which  Rev.  J.  E.  Roy,  D.D.,  was  then  pastor, 
Moody  began  to  cast  about  for  some  definite  Christian  service.  Re- 
membering, it  may  be,  his  success  in  childhood  as  a  recruiting  agent 
for  the  Sunday-school  at  Northfield,  he  conceived  the  idea  that  he 
had  a  special  talent  for  this  work,  and  at  once  hired  a  pew,  which  he 
undertook  to  fill  every  Sunday.  He  would  hail  young  men  on  the 
street  corners,  or  visit  their  boarding-houses,  or  even  call  them  out 
of  saloons  to  share  his  pew.  Whether  the  novelty  of  the  invitation 
or  the  irresistible  earnestness  and  cordiality  of  the  young  man  induced 
a  large  number  to  attend,  the  object  was  at  any  rate  attained,  and 
before  long  he  was  renting  four  pews,  which  he  filled  every  Sunday 
with  his  strangely  assorted  guests. 

The  great  religious  revival  that  swept  over  the  country  in  1856 
had  reached  to  Chicago,  and  young  Moody  heartily  enjoyed  the 
opportunities  and  blessings  it  brought.  Writing  to  his  mother 
under  date  of  January  6,  1857,  he  expressed  great  delight  in  the 


48  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

interest  that  was  awakened,  introducing  the  phrases  current  at  the 
time. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  write  that  will  interest  you  unless  it  is  that 
there  is  a  great  revival  of  religion  in  this  city,"  he  says.  "  I  go  to  meet- 
ing every  night.  Oh,  how  I  do  enjoy  it !  It  seems  as  if  God  was 
here  Himself.  Oh,  mother,  pray  for  us.  Pray  that  this  work  may 
go  on  until  every  knee  is  bowed.  I  wish  there  could  be  a  revival  in 
Northfield,  that  many  might  be  brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ.  Oh, 
mother,  keep  the  family  away  from  the  Spiritualists'  meetings,  for  I 
am  afraid  they  may  be  led  astray. 

"  How  did  you  spend  New  Year  and  Christmas  ?  Oh,  mother,  I 
pray  that  this  year  may  be  the  happiest  of  your  life.  It  has  com- 
menced well  with  me;  hope  it  will  continue.  Uncle  Calvin  urged  me 
to  come  down  and  see  him  Christmas  or  New  Year,  but  could  not 
leave  business.  Now,  mother,  please  excuse  this  short  letter  and 
write  soon." 

To  this  letter  there  is  an  amusing  postscript  indicating  how  readily 
this  young  man,  under  twenty  years  of  age,  had  acquired  the  spirit 
of  the  place. 

"  Mother,  you  said  in  your  letter  that  you  were  glad  to  hear  that  I 
was  getting  such  good  pay.  I  think  you  did  not  understand  me,  for  I 
did  not  say  I  got  that  amount,  but  that  I  could  make  it  soon.  If  I 
should  build  me  a  house  out  here  that  would  cost  me  one  hundred 
dollars,  I  could  rent  it  for  seventy-five  dollars  a  year.  That  is  making 
money;  that  is,  if  I  was  able  to  do  it,  you  know." 

Soon  after  his  entering  Wiswall's  boot  and  shoe  house  a  jobbing 
department  was  added  to  the  business,  which  gave  his  ability  still 
greater  opportunities  to  display  itself.  He  would  carefully  watch  the 
depots  and  hotel  registers  for  possible  customers  from  neighboring 
towns,  and  took  pride  in  making  better  and  larger  sales  than  his 
fellow-clerks.  It  was  his  ambition  at  this  time  to  be  worth  $100,000 — 
a  fortune  in  those  days.  His  early  training  had  inured  him 
to  hardship  and  had  taught  him  the  strictest  economy,  so  that  he 


In  Business  in  Chicago  49 

seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  reach  his  goal  in  a  reasonably  short 
time. 

His  success  as  a  salesman  in  the  city  store  so  commended  him  to 
his  employer  that  he  was  soon  sent  out  to  represent  the  firm  as  a 
commercial  traveller.  In  this  capacity  he  had  many  exciting  experi- 
ences. On  one  occasion,  in  order  to  reach  a  newly  settled  frontier 
town,  Mr.  Moody  had  to  hire  a  pair  of  livery  horses  to  make  the  trip. 
All  went  well  until,  in  driving  down  a  steep  hill,  the  hold-back  straps 
were  found  to  be  too  loose,  allowing  the  wheels  of  the  carriage  to 
strike  the  horses'  heels.  The  team  immediately  became  unmanage- 
able and  bolted.  So  long  as  the  driver  could  keep  them  in  the  road 
all  was  well.  But  when  at  last  they  dashed  out  of  the  roadway  into 
a  tract  that  had  been  recently  cleared  of  heavy  timber,  it  required 
unusual  nerve  power  and  physical  strength  to  guide  them  safely. 
In  telling  the  story  years  afterward,  Mr.  Moody  used  to  say  that  it 
was  the  most  exciting  ride  he  ever  had. 

"  Standing  up  in  the  buggy  with  my  hat  gone  and  my  hair  on  end, 
I  was  just  able  to  dodge  the  huge  stumps  and  get  my  team  back  into 
the  road,  where  at  last  a  steep  hill  damped  the  ardor  of  the  horses." 

To  the  duties  of  a  commercial  traveller  there  was  added  in  those 
days  the  work  of  a  collector.  When  the  rumor  was  circulated  that 
any  firm  was  likely  to  fail,  each  creditor  immediately  sent  his  repre- 
sentative to  collect  as  quickly  as  possible  the  amount  that  was  due 
him.  An  assignment,  in  which  all  creditors  share  equally,  is  a  prac- 
tice of  later  date.  On  one  such  occasion  Moody  was  sent  to  a  neigh- 
boring town  late  on  Saturday  afternoon  to  collect  a  debt  from  a  shoe 
dealer  whose  credit  was  under  suspicion.  There  was  one  other  firm 
to  which  this  country  merchant  was  deeply  indebted,  and  Moody  dis- 
covered their  representative  on  the  train.  Now  it  was  against 
Moody's  principles  to  travel  on  Sunday,  and  he  had  planned  to  spend 
Sunday  somewhere  en  route,  and  start  on  again  early  Monday  morn- 
ing. The  other  collector  was  not  hampered  by  any  such  scruples, 
and  intended  to  arrive  Sunday  and  secure  his  claim  early  on  Monday 


5O  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

morning.  Where  a  principle  was  involved  Moody  would  never  hesi- 
tate, but  his  business  pride  made  it  hard  for  him  to  see  his  com- 
petitor win  so  easily,  and  he  determined  to  do  what  he  could  to  gain 
an  even  chance.  In  those  early  days  of  railway  travel  "  through  ser- 
vice "  was  not  common,  "  changes  "  being  frequent.  At  one  of  these 
changes  Moody  got  his  companion  to  take  a  walk  with  him,  and 
succeeded  in  holding  his  attention  in  conversation  until  he  lost  his 
train,  with  the  result  that  the  claims  were  entered  on  equal  terms  on 
the  same  day. 

In  a  letter  home,  written  at  this  time,  he  said : 

"  I  suppose  you  would  like  to  know  how  I  am  doing.  Well,  I  am 
doing  first-rate.  Shall  be  on  there  in  the  summer,  if  not  before.  I 
came  very  near  going  last  week.  A  man  offered  to  pay  my  way  if  I 
would  go  with  him  to  buy  some  goods,  but  Mr.  Wiswall  was  so  driven 
for  help  that  he  could  not  spare  me.  I  should  like  to  come  back  to 
the  Bay  State  once  more.  Things  don't  look  out  here  as  they  do  in 
Boston.  A  good  many  of  the  stores  are  kept  open  on  the  Sabbath- 
day.  It  is  a  great  holiday  out  here." 

In  another  letter  he  writes : 

"  I  have  made  thirty  dollars  a  week  ever  since  I  came  out  here. 
.  .  .  Don't  let  Uncle  Samuel  get  hold  of  it,  but  as  it  has  turned 
out,  I  have  done  the  very  best  thing  in  coming.  My  expenses  are 
high,  but  I  can  make  more  money  than  in  Boston.  I  will  send  you  a 
bill  of  fare  of  the  house  where  I  board,  and  then  you  can  judge 
whether  I  shall  starve  or  not." 

"  I  can  make  more  money  here  in  a  week  than  I  could  in  Boston 
in  a  month,"  he  writes  to  his  brother  George  at  this  time,  "  but  that 
is  not  all.  I  find  the  better  I  live  the  more  enjoyment  I  have,  and 
the  more  I  think  of  God  and  His  love  the  less  I  think  of  the 
world's  troubles.  George,  don't  let  anything  keep  you  from  the 
full  enjoyment  of  God's  love.  I  think  we  have  things  sometimes 
come  upon  us  to  try  our  faith,  and  God  likes  to  see  us  cling  on.  As 
the  Psalmist  says  in  one  place,  God  likes  to  chastise  them  whom  He 


In  Business  in  Chicago  53 

loves.  So  let  us  pray  for  each  other.  I  have  brought  you  before 
God  in  my  prayers,  and  I  hope  you  have  done  the  same  for  me." 

The  many  temptations  of  city  life  appealed  strongly  to  the  am- 
bitious young  man,  but  realizing  them  fully,  he  was  always  on  his 
guard.  The  following  letter,  written  to  his  mother  in  the  spring  of 
1858,  illustrates  how  keenly  he  felt  his  situation  at  that  time: 

"  I  have  a  good  position,  and  I  mean  to  work  my  cards  to  make 
it  better.  I  have  been  very  successful  so  far,  and  if  nothing  happens 
I  shall  do  well.  Luther  (his  brother)  thought  it  was  very  foolish  in 
my  leaving  Wiswall's,  but  I  have  got  a  situation  that  is  worth  five  of 
that.  If  I  have  my  health  and  my  God  is  with  me,  I  shall  succeed 
better  here  in  Chicago  than  I  ever  thought.  Mother,  I  hope  you  will 
not  forget  to  pray  for  your  son  here  in  the  West,  surrounded  by 
temptations  on  aft  sides.  I  never  worked  in  a  place  since  my  con- 
version where  there  were  so  many  young  men  as  here.  I  hope  you 
will  plead  with  God  that  I  may  live  a  consistent  Christian  before  them. 
I  am  in  hope  to  live  so  before  them  that  I  may  succeed  in  winning 
their  souls  to  Christ.  Pray  for  me,  dear  mother." 

Mention  should  be  made  of  the  good  influence  of  Moody's  land- 
lady, "  Mother  Phillips,"  as  she  was  commonly  called.  Her  hearty 
sympathy  was  a  help  that  he  always  deeply  appreciated.  The  friend- 
ships he  formed  in  her  house  at  this  time  with  other  young  men, 
who,  like  himself,  were  just  beginning  their  careers  in  the  Western 
metropolis,  lasted  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Among  the  number  were 
men  whose  names  have  since  become  prominent,  not  only  as  fore- 
most citizens  of  Chicago,  but  as  some  of  the  successful  men  of  the 
country,  including  Edward  Isham,  Norman  Williams,  Levi  Z.  Leiter, 
Gen.  George  V.  Smith,  Gen.  John  L.  Thompson,  Benjamin  B.  Page, 
and  William  H.  Seward.  In  speaking  of  his  early  friend,  Mr.  Isham 
said  recently: 

"  Moody  was  an  exceedingly  earnest,  active,  and  forceful  man, 
strenuous  in  all  his  activities;  but  he  was  at  the  same  time  a  broad- 
minded,  generous-hearted,  affectionate  man,  dear  to  all  who  knew 

4 


54  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

him.  He  was  the  same  in  early  days  as  later,  and  every  one  of  the 
circle  remained  fond  of  him  to  the  very  end,  no  matter  how  much  he 
differed  from  him  in  opinion." 

As  an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  Mr.  Moody  continually  had 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  friends  on  his  mind,  one  of  them  recently 
related  the  following  incident: 

"  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  at  the  funeral  of  a  common  friend. 
After  the  services  he  went  back  to  his  hotel  and  wrote  a  four-page 
letter  to  me  with  sentences  heavily  underscored,  following  his  usual 
line  of  thought.  The  letter  was  one  of  his  efforts  to  pluck  me  out  of 
the  burning  in  which  I  suppose  he  considered  me  a  brand." 


CHAPTER   V 
FIRST  ATTEMPTS  AT  CHRISTIAN  WORK 

A  LTHOUGH  Moody's  Sunday  mornings  were  occupied  in  se- 
AA  curing  young  men  to  share  his  pews  at  Plymouth  Church, 
his  Sunday  afternoons  and  evenings  were  free.  His  in- 
domitable energy  seemed  to  need  no  "  day  of  rest,"  and  a  good  night's 
sleep  was  always  sufficient  to  recuperate  the  utmost  drain  upon  his 
strength.  Even  in  later  days  he  was  wont  to  associate  rest,  not  with 
inactivity,  which  he  considered  most  wearisome,  but  with  some 
change  of  occupation.  "  How  I  do  pity  people  who  hang  about 
these  summer  resorts  doing  nothing !  My !  it  would  send  me  crazy !  " 
he  would  often  exclaim. 

He  soon  solved  the  problem  of  occupying  his  leisure  hours  on 
Sunday  afternoon  by  taking  up  Sunday-school  work.  Shortly  after 
arriving  in  Chicago  he  discovered  a  little  mission  Sunday-school  on 
North  Wells  Street,  where  he  applied  for  a  class.  The  supply  of 
teachers  at  that  time  was  in  excess  of  scholars,  and  the  applicant  was 
told  that  the  sixteen  teachers  were  found  amply  sufficient  to  instruct 
twelve  children,  but  that  they  would  welcome  his  services  if  he  could 
provide  his  own  class.  This  was  exactly  to  young  Moody's  taste, 
and  on  the  following  Sunday  he  arrived  at  the  school  leading  a  pro- 
cession of  eighteen  little  "  hoodlums  "  that  he  had  gathered.  This 
success  made  his  special  calling  clear  to  him,  and  he  continued  to 
gather  new  scholars  for  others  to  teach,  feeling  that  he  was  not  suffi- 
ciently gifted  for  that  work  himself. 

Through  his  persistent  efforts  the  Wells  Street  Sunday-school 


56  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

grew  to  larger  proportions,  until  its  accommodations  were  well  taxed. 
The  experience  he  gained  here  in  building  up  the  attendance  of  a 
Sabbath-school,  and  in  its  organization  and  administration,  proved 
most  valuable. 

At  this  time  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  one  who,  four  years 
later,  became  his  wife,  Emma  C.  Revell,  at  this  time  a  girl  of  fifteen, 
and  a  teacher  in  the  school. 

Feeling  that  his  success  in  the  Wells  Street  Mission  pointed  to 
greater  undertakings,  Mr.  Moody,  in  the  fall  of  1858,  determined  to 
begin  another  mission  school  on  a  larger  scale  in  another  part  of  the 
city.  The  same  success  attended  these  efforts,  and  it  was  soon  found 
that  a  large  hall  would  be  necessary  to  accommodate  the  attendance. 
Such  a  place  was  secured  in  the  North  Market  Hall,  a  public  hall  over 
one  of  the  large  city  markets  of  Chicago.  Here,  in  company  with 
his  friends,  Mr.  Moody  began  the  Sunday-school  work  which  de- 
veloped later  into  the  Illinois  Street  Church,  afterwards  the  Chicago 
Avenue  Church,  in  which  he  held  membership  during  the  later  years 
of  his  life. 

From  a  description  of  the  building  given  by  Mr.  John  T.  Dale,  an 
early  teacher  in  the  school,  it  was  neither  attractive  in  appearance  nor 
clean.  "  It  was  a  large,  dingy,  dilapidated-looking  brick  building 
on  the  outside,  while  the  inside  was  a  great  grimy  hall  with  blackened 
walls  and  ceiling,  and  as  bare  and  uninviting  as  can  be  imagined.  But 
it  was  soon  crowded  to  the  doors  with  classes  of  boys  and  girls  of  a 
type  entirely  new  to  me ;  largely  the  gamins  of  the  streets,  bold,  rest- 
less, inquisitive  youngsters,  whose  wardrobe  was  often  limited  to 
trousers,  shirt,  and  suspenders — even  these  in  a  very  advanced  stage 
of  decay.  The  scholars  were  bubbling  over  with  mischief  and  ex- 
uberance of  vitality  and  sorely  tried  the  patience  of  the  teachers;  but 
the  singing  was  a  vent  for  their  spirits,  and  such  singing  I  had  never 
heard  before.  The  boys  who  sold  papers  in  the  street  had  an  inde- 
scribable lung  power,  and  the  rest  seemed  not  far  behind.  There 
must  have  been  five  or  six  hundred  scholars,  and  it  was  no  easy  task 


First  Attempts  at  Christian  Work  57 

to  govern  such  a  boisterous  crowd,  but  the  teachers  seemed  to  inter- 
est their  classes,  and  the  exercises  passed  off  with  great  enthusiasm. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  school  Mr.  Moody  took  his  place  at  the  door 
and  seemed  to  know  personally  every  boy  and  girl;  he  shook  hands 
and  had  a  smile  and  a  cheery  word  for  each.  They  crowded  about 
him  tumultuously,  and  his  arm  must  have  ached  many  a  time  after 
those  meetings.  It  was  easy  to  see  the  hold  he  had  on  those  young 
lives,  and  why  they  were  drawn  to  that  place  week  after  week.  The 
institution  was  a  veritable  hive  of  activity — meetings  almost  every 
evening,  with  occasional  picnics  and  sociables,  and  services  on  the 
Sabbath  that  occupied  most  of  the  day." 

In  this  "  North  Market  Hall  School,"  as  it  came  to  be  generally 
called,  Mr.  Moody  filled  a  variety  of  offices  from  that  of  janitor  to 
superintendent.  "  Sunday  was  a  busy  day  for  me  then,"  he  would 
say  in  relating  the  story  of  the  work.  "  During  the  week  I  would  be 
out  of  town  as  a  commercial  traveller  selling  boots  and  shoes,  but  I 
would  always  manage  to  be  back  by  Saturday  night.  Often  it  was 
late  when  I  got  to  my  room,  but  I  would  have  to  be  up  by  six  o'clock 
to  get  the  hall  ready  for  Sunday-school.  Every  Saturday  night  a 
German  society  held  a  dance  there,  and  I  had  to  roll  out  beer  kegs, 
sweep  up  sawdust,  clean  up  generally,  and  arrange  the  chairs.  This 
I  did  not  think  it  right  to  hire  done  on  Sunday,  so  sometimes  with 
the  assistance  of  a  scholar,  and  often  without  any,  I  would  do  it  myself. 

"  This  usually  took  most  of  the  morning,  and  when  it  was  done  I 
would  have  to  drum  up  the  scholars  and  new  boys  and  girls.  By  the 
time  two  o'clock  came  we  would  have  the  hall  full,  and  then  I  had  to 
keep  order  while  the  speaker  for  the  day  led  the  exercises.  We  had 
to  keep  things  going  to  keep  up  the  children's  interest.  When  school 
was  over  I  visited  absent  scholars  and  found  out  why  they  were  not  at 
Sunday-school,  called  on  the  sick,  and  invited  the  parents  to  attend 
the  evening  gospel  service.  By  the  time  I  had  made  my  rounds  the 
hour  had  come  for  the  evening  meeting,  where  I  presided,  and  follow- 
ing that  we  had  an  after-meeting.  By  the  time  I  was  through  the  day 


58  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

I  was  tired  out.  I  didn't  know  much  at  that  time,  for  after  going 
from  early  morning  till  late  at  night  with  only  a  few  crackers  and 
some  cheese,  I  was  faint  and  fatigued.  Sometimes  after  such  a  day's 
work  I  thought  I  sinned  in  going  to  sleep  over  my  prayers,  when 
really  I  was  a  fool  for  neglecting  the  dictates  of  common  sense.  God 
is  not  a  hard  taskmaster,  and  in  later  years  I  have  learned  that  to 
do  your  best  work  you  cannot  afford  to  neglect  the  common  laws 
of  health." 

It  was  not  Mr.  Moody's  plan  to  act  as  superintendent  of  the  school. 
He  wisely  associated  with  himself  John  V.  Farwell,  at  that  time  the 
largest  dry-goods  merchant  in  the  city;  Isaac  H.  Burch,  president  of 
one  of  the  banks,  and  others.  These  gentlemen  assisted  him,  and  in 
turn  superintended  the  school,  contributing  largely  to  the  success 
which  followed.  At  no  time  in  his  life  was  Mr.  Moody  willing  to 
submit  to  traditional  methods  if  they  did  not  appear  to  him  to  be  as 
effective  as  others  of  a  modern  or  even  an  original  kind.  He  was 
fond  of  quoting  an  old  Scotch  saying :  "  They  say !  What  do  they 
say?  Let  them  say!"  This  spirit  manifested  itself  in  the  North 
Market  School,  where  "  the  order  of  exercises"  was  never  determined 
by  any  prearranged  programme.  Mr.  Moody  or  some  other  helper 
would  read  a  passage  of  Scripture,  sing  a  hymn,  tell  an  anecdote — 
anything  to  fill  up  the  time. 

The  plan  by  which  the  unsuccessful  teachers  were  dropped  was  as 
novel  as  it  was  effective.  The  rule  of  the  school  was  that  transfers 
of  membership  from  one  class  to  another  could  always  be  made  by 
simply  notifying  the  superintendent  of  the  desired  change,  which  in- 
evitably resulted  in  the  survival  of  the  fittest  among  the  teachers,  as 
the  effect  of  the  children's  liberty  of  choice.  By  degrees  the  school 
increased  to  fifteen  hundred;  and  as  new  teachers  enlisted,  order  and 
method  grew  rapidly.  It  was  before  the  day  of  International  Les- 
sons, however,  and  scholars  and  teachers  had  but  one  text-book,  the 
Bible,  and  denominational  lines  were  not  recognized. 

Mr.  Moody's  devices  for  running  the  school  were  eminently  sue- 


First  Attempts  at  Christian  Work  59 

cessful.  He  issued  stock  certificates  on  the  "  North  Market  Sabbath- 
school  Association;  capital, $10,000;  40,000  shares  at  twenty-five  cents 
each."  These  certified  the  purchase  of  shares  "  for  the  erection  of  a 
new  building."  "  For  dividends  apply  at  the  school  each  Sabbath 
at  three  P.M." 

Grace  was  the  general  rule  of  the  school,  but  even  here  the  excep- 
tion proved  the  rule,  and  stern  law  on  a  few  occasions  vested  in  Mr. 
Moody  the  duties  of  sergeant-at-arms.  On  one  such  occasion  a  cer- 
tain young  "  bully  "  seemed  more  than  usually  ill-behaved.  He  was 
a  ringleader  among  the  worst  element  in  the  town,  and  his  persistent 
and  malicious  attempts  to  make  disturbance  caused  great  annoyance. 
In  response  to  repeated  warnings  he  only  assumed  a  more  threaten- 
ing attitude  and  mocked  at  every  effort  to  induce  him  to  behave.  It 
was  against  the  rules  to  turn  a  scholar  out,  so  that,  grace  having  failed, 
Mr.  Moody  saw  that  recourse  to  law  was  inevitable,  and  said  to  Mr. 
Farwell : 

"  If  that  boy  disturbs  his  class  to-day,  and  you  see  me  go  for  him 
and  take  him  to  the  anteroom,  ask  the  school  to  rise  and  sing  a  very 
loud  hymn  until  I  return." 

The  programme  was  executed  as  arranged.  Mr.  Moody  seized  the 
boy,  hurried  him  into  the  anteroom  before  he  realized  what  was  hap- 
pening, and  locked  the  door.  He  gave  the  boy  such  a  whipping  as  he 
himself  had  received  in  early  life,  and  presently  returned  with  face 
flushed,  but  with  an  expression  of  victory.  The  boy  was  converted 
soon  afterwards,  and  years  later  acknowledged  to  a  friend  that  he 
was  still  enjoying  the  benefits  of  that  gospel  exercise. 

The  school  grew  steadily  till  it  was  among  the  largest  in  Chicago. 
President  Lincoln's  visit  to  the  school  when  on  his  way  to  Washing- 
ton to  enter  on  his  first  term  of  office  was  a  memorable  occasion.  His 
popularity  in  Chicago  assured  him  of  a  demonstrative  welcome,  and 
when,  a  few  months  later,  the  war  broke  out,  the  North  Market 
Sunday-school  contributed  over  fifty  soldiers  in  answer  to  the  Presi- 
dent's first  call  for  troops.  Nor  did  the  influences  of  this  mission 


60  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

school  and  its  consecrated  leader  become  dissipated  by  time  or  dis- 
tance. Not  only  in  the  army  but  wherever  members  of  this  school 
were  to  be  found  the  impress  received  was  most  manifest.  An  inter- 
esting incident  is  given  by  the  Rev.  John  Vetter,  who  says : 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1863,  as  a  home  missionary,  I  Was  on  a  tour  in 

northern  Michigan.  Arriving  at  the  county  seat  of  M County, 

I  inquired  about  the  gospel  needs  of  the  place.  There  was  no  meet- 
ing-house, no  preaching.  On  inquiring  about  Sunday-school,  the 
man,  with  some  hesitation,  as  though  not  quite  certain,  said:  '  Well, 
yes,  a  Sunday-school  was  started  last  Sunday  by  a  little  girl.'  I 
quickly  went  to  her  father's  house.  Mary  was  all  animation  telling 
me  about  Mr.  Moody  and  the  Sunday-school  in  North  Market  Hall. 
Mr.  Moody's  photograph  was  hanging  on  the  wall,  and  another  of 
sixteen  street  boys  with  their  street  names,  only  one  of  which  I  now 
recall — '  Butcher  Bill.'  I  miist  say  that  I  was  taken  a  little  by  sur- 
prise. I  had  not  heard  of  D.  L.  Moody  at  that  time.  But  her  face 
was  all  aglow  as  she  spoke  of  the  Sunday-school  in  Chicago  to  which 
she  had  belonged,  and  from  which  she  was  now  so  far  away.  Evi- 
dently she  had  caught  Mr.  Moody's  enthusiasm.  Captain  Richard- 
son had  arrived  here  with  his  family  but  two  weeks  before,  and  now 
a  Sunday-school  is  started  by  this  girl  in  her  teens.  Since  their  ar- 
rival here  a  little  child  had  died  in  the  neighborhood.  They  were 
about  to  bury  it  without  funeral  exercises;  but  Mary  proposed  to 
read  some  Scripture,  sing,  and  pray,  which  she  did  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all.  Richardson  bought  a  pony  for  his  daughter,  so  she  was  en- 
abled to  go  to  the  next  town,  five  miles  distant,  and  organize  another 
Sunday-school,  where  preaching  was  established  soon  after,  with  a 
revival  following  that  swept  the  place.  An  account  of  this  experience 
appeared  in  one  of  the  religious  papers  at  the  time. 

"  During  the  following  summer,  having  occasion  to  be  in  Chicago, 
a  friend  asked  if  I  would  not  like  to  go  to  Mr.  Moody's  Sunday-school 
in  North  Market  Hall.  Having  met  Mary  Richardson,  an  interest 
had  been  awakened  to  see  the  man  she  had  described  so  glowingly. 


First  Attempts  at  Christian  Work  61 

On  being  introduced,  he  at  once  asked :  '  Are  you  not  the  man  whose 
account  of  Mary's  work  in  Michigan  I  saw  in  the  papers  last  year? 
Now,  I  want  you  to  tell  this  Sunday-school  all  about  what  she  is 
doing.  Right  over  there  (pointing  toward  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  hall)  is  her  Sunday-school  class,  and  there  is  where  she  was  con- 
verted.' " 

The  Sunday-school  of  six  hundred  and  its  corps  of  teachers  was 
an  enlivening  scene.  It  was  a  veritable  beehive. 

Although  it  had  begun  with  children,  the  work  extended  to  the 
parents,  and  from  the  mission  school  of  "  hoodlums "  in  North 
Market  Hall  a  work  developed  that  began  to  demand  more  time  and 
effort  than  the  young  commercial  traveller  could  give  and  still  con- 
tinue his  business.  Gospel  meetings  were  conducted  during  the 
week  in  a  room  formerly  used  for  a  saloon,  but  which  had  been  made 
over  into  a  mission  hall,  and  here  Dwight  L.  Moody  received  the 
practice  and  training  in  preaching  that  were  of  such  incalculable  value 
in  later  years. 

And  it  seems  that  he  needed  this  training,  for  he  attained  his  powers 
of  extempore  speaking  only  gradually.  It  is  of  interest  in  this  con- 
nection to  know  that  when  he  first  rose  to  speak  in  prayer-meeting 
one  of  the  deacons  assured  him  that  he  would,  in  his  opinion,  serve 
God  best  by  keeping  still ! 

Another  critic,  who  commended  his  zeal  in  filling  the  pews  he  had 
hired  in  Plymouth  Church,  suggested  that  he  should  realize  the  limi- 
tations of  his  vocation  and  not  attempt  to  speak  in  public. 

"  You  make  too  many  mistakes  in  grammar,"  he  complained. 

"  I  know  I  make  mistakes,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  lack  a  great 
many  things,  but  I'm  doing  the  best  I  can  with  what  I've  got." 

He  paused  and  looked  at  the  man  searchingly,  adding  with  his  own 
irresistible  manner : 

"  Look  here,  friend,  you've  got  grammar  enough — what  are  you 
doing  with  it  for  the  Master  ?  " 


CHAPTER   VI 
GIVING  UP  BUSINESS 

"  ^  I  ^  HE  greatest  struggle  I  ever  had  in  my  life  was  when  I  gave 
up  business,"  Mr.  Moody  often  said.  The  steadily  in- 
creasing duties  in  his  pioneer  religious  work  had  not  pre- 
vented his  success  in  business,  and  though  manager  of  the  largest 
Sunday-school  in  the  country,  he  could  hold  this  position  without 
detriment  to  the  interests  of  his  employer.  In  1858  he  entered  the 
establishment  of  C.  N.  Henderson,  a  wholesale  boot  and  shoe  dealer, 
where  he  worked  on  commission.  This  gave  him  greater  freedom 
to  use  a  part  of  his  time  in  Christian  work  without  encroaching  upon 
his  employer's  rights.  His  warm  esteem  for  his  employer,  whose 
friendship  he  thoroughly  appreciated,  is  shown  in  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  to  his  mother,  written  January  2,  1859: 

"  On  my  return  from  the  country  last  week  I  found  my  hopes  all 
vanished.  The  one  to  whom  I  had  looked  for  advice  and  counsel, 
who  had  proved  to  be  more  than  a  friend  to  me,  was  dead.  That 
man  was  my  employer,  Mr.  Henderson.  I  shall  miss  him  very  much. 
He  was  the  truest  friend  I  have  met  since  I  left  home.  He  seemed 
to  take  as  much  interest  in  my  welfare  as  he  would  in  the  welfare  of  his 
own  son." 

That  this  feeling  was  fully  reciprocated  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
a  year  later  Mrs.  Henderson  insisted  on  Moody's  settling  up  her  hus- 
band's business.  A  young  man  of  twenty-three  years,  he  shrank 
from  the  responsibility  of  handling  an  estate  worth  $150,000.  "  But  I 
feel  greatly  honored,"  he  wrote  his  mother,  "  for  they  had  a  great 


Giving  up  Business  63 

many  friends  who  are  good  business  men.  I  never  have  been  put 
in  so  responsible  a  position  in  my  life,  and  my  prayer  is  that  I  will  do 
myself  credit.  Do  not  say  anything  about  this,  will  you  ?  I  am  in 
hopes  that  you  will  not  forget  to  pray  for  me,  for  I  am  nothing  with- 
out the  same  God  who  has  been  with  me  since  I  started  out  in  life." 

About  this  time  he  was  actively  connected  with  a  Congregational 
church  on  the  North  Side.  The  meetings  were  too  slow  for  Moody, 
and  he  went  to  some  good  brother  and  asked  him  if,  at  the  next  meet- 
ing, he  would  not  get  up  and  be  the  first  to  speak.  He  said  he  would. 
Mr.  Moody  then  went  to  others,  and  engaged  three  to  be  the  second 
speaker  and  three  others  to  be  third.  When  the  first  man  had 
spoken  the  others  followed,  several  rising  at  once.  This  unusual 
sight  inspired  the  meeting  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  revival,  and  was 
really  the  beginning  of  a  great  quickening  of  spiritual  interest  in  the 
church. 

In  1860  he  was  working  for  Buel,  Hill  &  Granger,  and  had  saved 
$7,000  towards  the  $100,000  which  had  been  his  early  ambition.  In 
one  single  year  he  made,  by  special  commissions,  in  addition  to  his 
regular  salary,  over  $5,000,  an  unusually  large  sum  for  a  young  man 
under  twenty-four. 

It  was  a  time  of  great  excitement  in  the  nation.  Abraham  Lin- 
coln had  been  nominated  and  elected  President,  and,  like  the  young 
men  who  were  his  associates,  Mr.  Moody  was  immersed  in  business 
and  politics,  and  keenly  alive  to  all  the  events  of  the  hour.  He  had 
an  experience  at  this  time,  however,  that  entirely  transformed  his 
career  and  led  him  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  Christian  work. 
All  ambitions  for  wealth  were  sacrificed,  but  not  until  the  struggle 
had  lasted  three  long  months.  Finally  what  he  felt  to  be  the  call  of 
God  was  triumphant,  and  he  surrendered  his  own  plans  for  his 
Father's. 

How  he  came  to  give  up  business  altogether  may  best  be  told  in 
his  own  words: 

"  I  had  never  lost  sight  of  Jesus  Christ  since  the  first  time  I  met 


64  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Him  in  the  store  in  Boston,  but  for  years  I  really  believed  that  I 
could  not  work  for  God.  No  one  had  ever  asked  me  to  do  anything. 

"  When  I  went  to  Chicago  I  hired  four  pews  in  a  church,  and  used 
to  go  out  on  the  street  and  pick  up  young  men  and  fill  these  pews.  I 
never  spoke  to  the  young  men  about  their  souls;  that  was  the  work 
of  the  elders,  I  thought.  After  working  for  some  time  like  that,  I 
started  a  mission  Sunday-school.  I  thought  numbers  were  every- 
thing, and  so  I  worked  for  numbers.  When  the  attendance  ran  be- 
low one  thousand  it  troubled  me,  and  when  it  ran  to  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  I  was  elated.  Still  none  were  converted;  there  was  no 
harvest. 

"  Then  God  opened  my  eyes. 

"  There  was  a  class  of  young  ladies  in  the  school  who  were,  with- 
out exception,  the  most  frivolous  set  of  girls  I  ever  met.  One  Sun- 
day the  teacher  was  ill,  and  I  took  that  class.  They  laughed  in  my 
face,  and  I  felt  like  opening  the  door  and  telling  them  all  to  go  out 
and  never  come  back. 

"  That  week  the  teacher  of  the  class  came  into  the  store  where  I 
worked.  He  was  pale  and  looked  very  ill. 

"  '  What  is  the  trouble?  '  I  asked. 

' '  I  have  had  another  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs.  The  doctor 
says  I  cannot  live  on  Lake  Michigan,  so  I  am  going  back  to  New 
York  State.  I  suppose  I  am  going  to  die.' 

"  He  seemed  greatly  troubled,  and  when  I  asked  the  reason  he 
replied : 

"  '  Well,  I  have  never  led  any  of  my  class  to  Christ.  I  really  believe 
I  have  done  the  girls  more  harm  than  good.' 

"  I  had  never  heard  any  one  talk  like  that  before,  and  it  set  me 
thinking. 

"  After  a  while  I  said :  '  Suppose  you  go  and  tell  them  how  you 
feel.  I  will  go  with  you  in  a  carriage,  if  you  want  to  go.' 

"  He  consented,  and  we  started  out  together.  It  was  one  of  the 
best  journeys  I  ever  had  on  earth.  We  went  to  the  house  of  one  of 


Giving  up  Business  65 

the  girls,  called  for  her,  and  the  teacher  talked  to  her  about  her 
soul.  There  was  no  laughing  then.  Tears  stood  in  her  eyes  before 
long.  After  he  had  explained  the  way  of  life,  he  suggested  that  we 
have  a  word  of  prayer.  He  asked  me  to  pray.  True,  I  had  never 
done  such  a  thing  in  my  life  as  to  pray  God  to  convert  a  young  lady 
there  and  then.  But  we  prayed,  and  God  answered  our  prayer. 

"  We  went  to  other  houses.  He  would  go  upstairs  and  be  all  out 
of  breath,  and  he  would  tell  the  girls  what  he  had  come  for.  It  wasn't 
long  before  they  broke  down  and  sought  for  salvation. 

"  When  his  strength  gave  out  I  took  him  back  to  his  lodgings. 
The  next  day  we  went  out  again.  At  the  end  of  ten  days  he  came 
to  the  store  with  his  face  literally  shining. 

' '  Mr.  Moody/  he  said,  '  the  last  one  of  my  class  has  yielded  her- 
self to  Christ/ 

"  I  tell  you  we  had  a  time  of  rejoicing. 

"  He  had  to  leave  the  next  night,  so  I  called  his  class  together  that 
night  for  a  prayer-meeting,  and  there  God  kindled  a  fire  in  my  soul 
that  has  never  gone  out.  The  height  of  my  ambition  had  been  to 
be  a  successful  merchant,  and  if  I  had  known  that  meeting  was  going 
to  take  that  ambition  out  of  me,  I  might  not  have  gone.  But  how 
many  times  I  have  thanked  God  since  for  that  meeting ! 

"  The  dying  teacher  sat  in  the  midst  of  his  class,  and  talked  with 
them,  and  read  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John.  We  tried  to  sing 
'  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,'  after  which  we  knelt  to  pray.  I  was 
just  rising  from  my  knees  when  one  of  the  class  began  to  pray  for 
her  dying  teacher.  Another  prayed,  and  another,  and  before  we 
rose  the  whole  class  had  prayed.  As  I  went  out  I  said  to  myself: 

"  '  Oh,  God,  let  me  die  rather  than  lose  the  blessing  I  have  received 
to-night ! ' 

"  The  next  evening  I  went  to  the  depot  to  say  good-bye  to  that 
teacher.  Just  before  the  train  started,  one  of  the  class  came,  and 
before  long,  without  any  prearrangement,  they  were  all  there.  What 
a  meeting  that  was !  We  tried  to  sing,  but  we  broke  down.  The 


66  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

last  we  saw  of  that  teacher,  he  was  standing  on  the  platform  of  the 
rear  car,  his  ringer  pointing  upward,  telling  that  class  to  meet  him 
in  Heaven." 

Having  the  sum  saved  during  his  business  career,  Mr.  Moody  de- 
cided to  live  on  this  as  long  as  it  lasted.  If  at  the  end  of  this  time  the 
Lord  continued  to  reward  his  labor,  thus  indicating  that  it  was  the 
right  course  to  continue,  he  believed  that  the  means  for  it  would  be 
provided. 

He  began  to  economize  at  once  in  every  possible  manner,  leaving 
his  comfortable  boarding-place  with  its  congenial  associates  and 
sleeping  in  the  prayer-meeting  room  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  He  took  his  meals  in  cheap  restaurants,  and  lived  in  a 
way  that  would  have  killed  a  man  of  ordinary  constitution.  He 
would  often  say  in  later  years,  speaking  of  those  days,  "  I  was  an  older 
man  before  thirty  than  I  have  ever  been  since.  A  man's  health  is  too 
precious  to  be  as  carelessly  neglected  as  was  mine." 

He  now  had  time  to  conduct  his  Sunday-school  work  more  sys- 
tematically and  visit  his  scholars  in  their  homes.  This  was  an  adven- 
turous proceeding,  for  in  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  families  he  was 
anything  but  a  welcome  caller.  But  he  persisted  fearlessly  in  the 
work,  and  won  many  a  family  that  at  first  received  his  invitations  to 
North  Market  Hall  or  his  mission  hall  with  the  bitterest  contempt. 

In  his  Christian  work,  as  formerly  in  business,  Moody  had  little 
regard  for  strict  conventionalities  that  did  not  appeal  to  his  very 
practical  judgment  as  useful  or  effective,  and  many  a  strange  position 
did  he  find  himself  in  when  he  undertook  to  secure  his  object  without 
consideration  of  what  was  the  regular  but  less  immediate  method. 
Often  he  would  hail  children  on  the  street,  inviting  them  to  his 
Sunday-school,  and  would  ask  an  introduction  to  their  parents  to 
secure  their  consent  to  the  children  becoming  members. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  he  met  a  little  girl,  of  whom  he  inquired 
where  she  attended  Sunday-school.  As  she  was  not  a  regular  atten- 
dant anywhere,  Moody  asked  to  be  introduced  to  her  mother,  to 


Giving  up  Business  67 

secure  permission  for  the  family  to  attend  his  school.  The  child  had 
reasons  for  not  wanting  to  have  Mr.  Moody  find  her  home,  as  she 
knew  who  he  was.  Asking  him  to  wait  on  the  corner  for  her  till  she 
had  done  the  errand  on  which  she  had  been  sent,  she  disappeared, 
not  to  return. 

For  three  hours  he  waited  on  the  street  corner  for  the  little  truant 
before  he  gave  her  up  at  last.  Some  days  later  he  saw  the  girl  again, 
and  the  recognition  was  mutual.  Without  waiting  to  explain  why 
she  had  deserted  him  on  the  former  occasion  the  child  turned  and 
fled.  At  this  time  the  city's  system  of  drainage  had  just  been 
changed,  necessitating  the  elevation  by  several  feet  of  the  streets  in 
a  large  portion  of  the  city.  In  some  cases  the  property  owners  had 
not  only  elevated  their  houses,  but  had  built  new  sidewalks  on  a  level 
with  the  raised  street.  In  this  transition  period  from  low  to  high 
grade  these  innovations  had  been  frequent  but  irregular,  and  the  con- 
nections between  old  sidewalk  levels  and  new  ones  were  made  by  a 
few  raised  steps.  Up  and  down  these  sidewalks  the  girl  ran,  while 
close  behind  her  followed  the  determined  Sunday-school  teacher. 
Finally  she  darted  into  a  saloon,  and  through  the  barroom  into  a 
little  room,  and  finally  upstairs,  where  he  found  her  hiding  under  a 
bed.  Having  persuaded  the  child  to  come  out,  he  was  duly  intro- 
duced to  the  mother,  explained  the  purpose  of  his  call,  and  the  chil- 
dren were  secured  for  the  North  Market  Hall. 

The  sad  story  of  the  family  was  afterward  confided  to  Mr.  Moody, 
when  he  learned  that  the  mother  was  a  widow  who  had  only  recently 
lost  her  husband.  He  had  come  to  Chicago  to  make  his  fortune,  and 
having  failed  to  secure  employment  at  his  trade  as  a  carpenter,  had 
finally  opened  a  saloon.  Soon  after  he  had  died,  leaving  this  saloon 
as  the  only  means  of  support  to  his  widow  and  children,  who  had 
never  become  reconciled  to  the  business  and  felt  ashamed  of  this  way 
of  gaining  a  livelihood.  This  explained  the  child's  unwillingness  to 
have  Mr.  Moody  know  where  she  lived.  In  time  the  widow  and  her 
children  were  led  into  the  way  of  a  better  life,  the  saloon  was  closed, 


68  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  years  afterward  Mr.  Moody  met,  in  a  Western  city,  the  little  girl 
who  had  given  him  that  wild  chase,  a  woman  now,  the  wife  of  an 
earnest  Christian,  and  herself  devoted  to  church  work. 

A  source  of  very  great  annoyance  to  Mr.  Moody  in  his  pioneer 
Sunday-school  work  at  this  time  was  the  "frequent  disturbances  which 
came  from  the  lower  class  of  the  Roman  Catholic  element.  Many 
of  the  boys  would  try  to  interfere  with  the  meetings — broken  win- 
dows and  such  disturbances  being  not  the  least  troublesome  expres- 
sion of  their  disapproval.  At  last  he  felt  that  extreme  measures  must 
be  taken,  and  he  called  on  Bishop  Duggan,  who  was  prelate  of  that 
diocese.  It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  gain  access  to  so  high  a 
church  dignitary,  and  a  maid  who  answered  his  call  at  the  door  was 
not  ready  to  promise  him  the  audience  he  requested.  Bishop  Dug- 
gan, he  was  told,  was  busy  and  could  not  be  seen,  but  young  Moody 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  step  over  the  threshold  and  was  not  so 
easily  thwarted.  "  Well,  never  mind,"  he  said,  "  I  will  remain  until 
he  is  at  leisure,"  and  without  waiting  for  further  invitation  quietly 
passed  into  the  hallway. 

The  maid  was  not  at  all  sure  that  the  bishop  would  care  to  be  inter- 
viewed by  the  self-constituted  missionary,  but  it  was  useless  to  attempt 
to  dissuade  him.  He  had  come  to  see  the  bishop,  and  would  wait  if 
necessary  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  or  until  the  bishop  could  find 
it  convenient  to  give  him  a  hearing.  When  at  length  the  bishop 
appeared  in  the  hall,  the  young  man  very  briefly  related  his  mission, 
and  said  that  he  was  engaged  in  a  work  for  children  in  a  part  of  the 
city  that  was  being  neglected  by  everybody  else.  It  was  therefore  a 
pity,  he  said,  that  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  continue  the  work 
unmolested,  and  he  requested  the  bishop  to  give  orders  to  the  parish 
priests  to  prevent  all  future  interferences. 

Bishop  Duggan  refused  to  believe  that  any  of  his  people  were  to 
blame  for  the  disturbances,  to  which  Moody  answered  that  his  only 
reason  for  believing  that  the  boys  were  Roman  Catholics  was  their 
own  statement  to  that  effect.  Bishop  Duggan  then  replied  that  they 


MR.  AND  MRS.  D.  L.  MOODY  IN  1864  AND  rc  i! 


Giving  up  Business  71 

represented  the  worst  element  in  the  church  and  that  he  had  no  con- 
trol over  them. 

"  Your  zeal  and  devotion  are  most  commendable  in  behalf  of  these 
people,  however,"  he  added,  "  and  all  you  need  to  make  you  a  great 
power  for  good  is  to  come  within  the  fold  of  the  only  true 
church." 

"  But,"  replied  the  young  missionary,  "  whatever  advantage  that 
would  give  me  among  your  people  would  be  offset  by  the  fact  that  I 
could  no  longer  work  among  the  Protestants." 

"  Why,  certainly  you  could  still  work  among  the  Protestants,"  was 
the  reply. 

"  But  surely  you  would  not  let  me  pray  with  a  Protestant  if  I 
became  a  Roman  Catholic." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  Bishop,  "  you  could  pray  with  Protestants  as 
much  as  ever." 

"  Well,  I  didn't  know  that,"  said  the  young  man.  "  Would  you, 
Bishop,  pray  with  a  Protestant?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Bishop  Duggan,  "  I  would." 

"  Well,  then,"  replied  Mr.  Moody,  "  I  wish  that  you  would  pray 
for  me  now,  that  I  may  be  led  aright  in  this  matter,"  and  forthwith 
knelt  where  they  had  been  standing  in  the  hall.  The  Bishop  and  Mr. 
Moody  both  prayed. 

The  result  of  that  short  conference  was  a  cessation  of  all  further 
annoyance  from  the  Roman  Catholic  element  in  the  city,  and  a  life- 
long friendship  between  the  two  men. 

But  his  efforts  were  not  always  attended  with  such  immediate  sucr 
cess.  A  man  does  not  gain  the  strength  to  conquer  others  in  a  series 
of  rapid  victories  alone,  and  often  the  result  of  his  most  earnest  work 
was  apparently  little  or  nothing. 

On  his  way  home  from  meeting  one  night  Mr.  Moody  saw  a  man 
leaning  against  a  lamp-post.  Stepping  up  to  him  and  placing  his 
hands  on  his  shoulders,  he  said  : 

"  Are  you  a  Christian?  " 
5 


72  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

The  man  flew  into  a  rage,  doubled  up  his  fists,  and  it  seemed  for 
a  moment  as  if  the  missionary  might  be  pitched  into  the  gutter. 

"  I'm  very  sorry  if  I  have  offended  you,"  said  Mr.  Moody. 

"  Mind  your  own  business !  "  roared  the  man. 

"  That  is  my  business,"  the  other  replied  quietly,  and  went  on  his 
way. 

About  three  months  later,  on  a  bitter  cold  morning  at  daybreak, 
some  one  knocked  at  Mr.  Moody's  door. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  he  asked. 

A  strange  voice  answered,  and  he  said,  "  What  do  you  want?  " 

"  I  want  to  become  a  Christian,"  was  the  reply. 

Mr.  Moody  opened  the  door,  and,  to  his  astonishment,  there  was  the 
man  who  had  cursed  him  for  talking  to  him  as  he  leaned  against  the 
lamp-post. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,"  said  the  man.  "  I  haven't  had  any  peace  since 
that  night.  Your  words  have  haunted  and  troubled  me.  I  couldn't 
sleep  last  night,  and  I  thought  I  would  come  and  get  you  to  pray  for 
me."  That  man  accepted  Christ,  and  the  moment  he  had  done  so 
asked : 

"  What  can  I  do  for  Him?  " 

He  taught  in  the  Sabbath-school  until  the  war  broke  out,  when  he 
enlisted,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  shot  down,  but  not  before  he 
had  given  his  testimony  for  God. 


CHAPTER   VII 
CITY  MISSIONARY  WORK 

THE  compiler  of  a  city  directory  is  not  expected  to  act  as  an 
historian,  but  the  variety  of  occupations  there  accredited  to 
Mr.  Moody  between  1858  and  1869  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance. He  had  arrived  in  Chicago  too  late  in  1856  for  his  name  to 
appear  in  the  directory  of  the  succeeding  year,  and  the  first  record 
is  found  in  1858,  when  he  was  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Wiswall.  This 
item  reads:  "Moody,  Dwight  L.,  clerk,  boards  255  Wabash  Ave- 
nue." A  year  later  it  is  "  Salesman,  C.  H.  Henderson  &  Co.,  boards 
81  Michigan  Avenue,"  and  in  1860,  Mr.  Henderson  having  died,  he 
is  entered  as  "  Salesman,  Buel,  Hill  &  Granger,  boards  81  Michigan 
Avenue."  From  this  time  on  the  agent  recorded  him  first  as  a  "  li- 
brarian "  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  then  as  a  "  city 
missionary,"  and  in  1865  he  is  entered  as  a  "  Pastor  of  Illinois  Street 
Church."  In  1867  his  occupation  is  designated  as  "  president  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,"  and  the  last  entry,  in  1872,  is  as 
"  superintendent  "  of  the  North  Side  Tabernacle. 

Mr.  Moody  was  always  a  law  unto  himself,  and  the  independent 
and  unusual  way  in  which  he  entered  Christian  work  made  it  difficult 
for  the  directory  agent  to  place  him  exactly,  so,  for  want  of  a  better 
title,  he  was  "  librarian,"  "  city  missionary,"  or  "  pastor,"  as  the  case 
might  be.  The  truth  of  the  matter  was  that  Mr.  Moody  had  laid  up 
sufficient  money  to  support  himself  for  some  time,  and  entered  Chris- 
tian work  without  a  salary,  turning  his  back  upon  an  income  of  over 
five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  During  the 


74  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

first  yedT  he  received  about  three  hundred  dollars  from  friends  who 
had  become  interested  in  his  work,  and  by  strict  economy  he  hoped 
to  make  his  savings  last  some  years.  Beyond  that  he  planned  for 
nothing,  for  he  felt  confident  that  since  the  Lord  had  called  him  to 
the  work  He  would  support  him  in  it:  if  such  support  should  fail, 
moreover,  he  could  go  back  to  selling  shoes — had  not  St.  Paul  made 
tents  while  he  preached  the  Gospel? 

And  so  he  began  his  work,  with  no  Board  at  his  back,  no  society  to 
guarantee  his  salary :  his  dependence  was  on  God. 

Beginning  his  mission  work  with  children,  he  had  gradually,  as  has 
been  described,  gained  access  to  their  homes,  and  unconsciously  en- 
tered regular  evangelistic  work  before  he  knew  it.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  state  exactly  when  he  began  that  special  service  in  which  later 
he  became  so  widely  known,  as  it  was  rather  a  developed  gift  than  an 
ability  suddenly  displayed. 

To  aid  him  in  his  visiting,  Mr.  Moody  bought  a  little  Indian  pony, 
known  as  his  "  missionary  horse."  The  pony  was  of  course  a  source  of 
special  enjoyment  to  the  children,  and,  by  giving  rides  to  the  younger 
ones,  was  made  to  contribute  to  the  popularity  of  "  Moody's  Sunday- 
school,"  as  the  North  Market  Hall  School  had  now  come  to  be  called. 

It  was  not  an  uncommon  sight  to  see  him  on  one  of  his  mission- 
ary trips  with  one  or  two  children  behind  him  on  the  horse,  a  little  one 
in  his  arms,  and  more  crowding  about  seeking  the  "  next  turn." 
Many  stories  are  told  of  that  wonderful  pony,  among  others  how 
Moody,  riding  at  full  speed,  seized  a  rather  boisterous,  mischievous 
boy  who  had  been  throwing  stones  at  him,  and  lifting  him  up  by  the 
coat  collar,  placed  him  across  his  saddle  and  carried  him  two  or  three 
blocks,  securing  thereby  his  lasting  respect. 

In  those  days  young  Moody  did  not  always  receive  the  sympathy 
and  respect  which  came  to  him  only  as  the  reward  of  years  of  trial  in 
many  critical  experiences.  Writing  of  those  early  days,  his  friend 
and  most  intimate  associate  in  evangelistic  work,  Major  D.  W. 
Whittle,  thus  describes  him : 


City  Missionary  Work  75 

"  It  must  have  been  in  the  spring  of  1859  that,  as  I  was  passing  up 
Clark  Street  in  Chicago,  some  one  on  the  sidewalk  said,  '  There  goes 
"  Crazy  Moody." '  I  turned,  looked  down  the  street,  and  saw  a  young 
man  of  about  twenty-one,  short  and  stocky  in  figure,  weighing  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  He  was  riding  a  small  pony,  his 
trousers  in  his  bootlegs,  a  cap  on  his  head,  and  as  I  watched  him  he 
reined  up  to  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  Methodist  Block,  at  the 
corner  of  Clark  and  Washington  streets.  I  was  two  years  younger 
than  Mr.  Moody,  and  had  been  in  Chicago  since  April  I,  1857.  We 
were  both  from  the  Connecticut  Valley  in  Massachusetts,  but  had 
known  nothing  of  each  other  in  the  East.  I  had  been  interested  to 
some  degree  in  the  revival  meetings  of  1857  and  1858,  and  had  heard 
how  Moody  was  visiting  houses,  building  up  a  mission  school,  talking 
to  people  on  the  streets,  and  doing  all  sorts  of  eccentric  things.  The 
newspapers  were  full  of  jokes  about  him,  and  he  was  called  by  the 
reporters  '  Brother  Moody.'  Like  many  others,  I  had  the  impression 
that  he  was  crazy.  How  little  I  thought  as  I  looked  at  him  that  day 
that  my  life  would  be  influenced  by  him  and  his  wonderful  career ! 

"  It  was  during  his  last  summer,  as  we  were  talking  of  the  death  of 
Norman  Williams,  whose  funeral  he  had  recently  attended,  that  we 
spoke  of  those  early  days  when  he  had  first  known  Mr.  Williams.  At 
that  time  his  ambition  had  been  to  become  one  of  the  successful  mer- 
chants of  the  city ;  he  had  devoted  himself  with  great  energy  to  go 
ahead  of  all  the  band  of  young  men  with  whom  he  was  associated,  to 
sell  more  goods  than  any  of  them.  '  There  was  only  one  of  them 
but  what  I  felt  I  could  equal,  and  that  was  Marshall  Field,'  he  used 
to  say." 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that  he  won  the  heart  of  the  one  who  two 
years  later  became  his  wife.  It  is  not  permitted  the  writer  to  offer 
to  one  still  living  the  credit  that  her  heroism,  faith,  and  affectionate 
devotion  deserve,  but  it  may  be  simply  stated  that  in  Emma  C.  Revell 
Dwight  L.  Moody  found  his  greatest  human  resource.  To  her  wise 
counsel  he  gave  more  heed  than  to  that  of  any  other,  and  he  never 


76  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

failed  to  express  to  those  nearest  him  the  inestimable  debt  he  owed 
to  "  the  best  wife  God  ever  gave  to  a  man." 

It  was  when  he  had  renounced  worldly  ambitions  and,  contrary  to 
the  advice  of  all  his  friends,  had  launched  out  into  what  was  con- 
sidered a  wild  undertaking,  that  she,  a  girl  of  only  seventeen,  promised 
to  cast  in  her  lot  with  his — a  promise  fulfilled  two  years  later  by  their 
marriage  in  1862.  Her  educational  advantages  had  been  greater 
than  his,  and  she  became  his  most  able  assistant  in  every  undertaking. 
No  trial  was  so  severe,  no  burden  so  heavy,  that  he  could  not  find 
in  her  one  whose  fellowship  afforded  the  warmest  sympathy  and 
whose  faith  and  self-sacrifice  could  be  counted  on.  In  many  ways 
she  served  to  balance  his  impetuous  nature,  and  he  would  often 
acknowledge  the  helpful  service  her  judgment  had  been  and  regret 
on  occasion  that  he  had  acted  without  first  consulting  her. 

Although  Mr.  Moody  now  gave  a  great  deal  of  time  to  evangelistic 
meetings,  sometimes  speaking  himself,  but  more  often  securing  other 
speakers,  he  did  not  neglect  the  recruiting  of  students  for  his  Sunday- 
school,  and  to  keep  the  interest  from  flagging  he  had  recourse  to 
every  device  for  sustaining  its  popularity.  He  used  to  make  much 
of  picnics,  entering  into  the  spirit  of  them  with  as  great  zest  as  the 
youngest  child.  He  was  not  only  an  unusually  strong  man,  but  also  a 
very  fast  runner.  At  one  of  these  picnics  he  picked  up  a  barrel  nearly 
filled  with  apples,  and  holding  it  so  that  the  apples  would  spill  out, 
he  ran  ahead,  followed  by  the  boys,  who  gathered  up  the  fruit  as  it 
dropped. 

Among  the  premiums  for  good  conduct  and  regular  attendance, 
one  summer  season,  thirteen  boys  were  promised  a  new  suit  each  at 
Christmas  if  they  would  attend  regularly  until  that  time.  Their 
descriptive  names  were  indicative  of  their  social  status,  which  may  be 
judged  from  the  following  list:  Red  Eye,  Smikes,  Madden  the 
Butcher,  Jackey  Candles,  Giberick,  Billy  Blucannon,  Darby  the  Cob- 
bler, Butcher  Lilray,  Greenhorn,  Indian,  Black  Stove  Pipe,  Old  Man, 
and  Rag-Breeches  Cadet.  All  but  one  fulfilled  the  conditions,  and 


City  Missionary  Work  77 

Mr.  Moody  had  them  photographed  "  before  "  and  "  after  "  the  don- 
ning of  the  suits,  the  pictures  entitled,  "  Does  it  Pay?  "  and  "  It  Does 
Pay ! "  This  uniformed  group  became  known  as  "  Moody's  body- 
guard." 

Thirteen  years  later  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  friends  called  at  a  rail- 
way ticket-office.  The  agent,  after  looking  at  him  curiously  for  a 
moment,  asked  him  to  step  inside,  and  said : 

"  You  do  not  seem  to  know  me." 

"  No,  I  have  not  that  pleasure." 

"  You  know  Mr.  Moody's  '  bodyguard  '  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have  a  picture  of  them  at  home." 

"  Well,"  said  the  agent,  "  when  you  go  home  take  a  square  look 
at  the  ugliest  of  the  lot,  and  you  will  see  your  humble  servant,  now  a 
church  member  and  heir  to  Mr.  Moody  in  that  work." 

As  the  success  of  his  evangelistic  efforts  began  to  be  noticed  Mr. 
Moody  was  addressed  by  friends  in  other  cities  soliciting  his  aid  in 
behalf  of  wild  or  dissipated  young  men  who  had  wandered  to  Chicago. 
Letters  were  received  from  all  parts  of  the  country  in  which  parents, 
brothers,  sisters,  and  friends  pleaded  with  him  to  look  up  some  wan- 
derer and  do  what  he  could  to  save  him,  and  no  such  appeal  was  made 
in  vain.  A  friend,  in  describing  this  personal  feature  of  Mr.  Moody's 
work  at  this  time,  says : 

"  At  one  of  these  Sabbath  evening  services  I  saw  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  lawyers  of  Illinois,  from  the  heart  of  the  State,  sitting 
by  the  side  of  his  son,  who  had  been  snatched  as  a  brand  from  the 
burning  by  the  earnest  appeals  and  prayers  of  Moody.  The  lawyer 
had  written  to  Moody  to  save  his  son  if  he  could.  Words  cannot  tell 
of  the  work  accomplished  in  those  days,  nor  describe  the  intense 
earnestness  of  the  audiences  nor  the  enthusiastic  singing  of  the  old 
evangelical  hymns  and  the  Sabbath-school  tunes.  If  ever  the  Lord 
was  praised  from  full  hearts,  it  was  at  these  meetings." 

It  was  natural  that  a  man  so  practical  as  Mr.  Moody  should  have 
had  a  strong  desire  to  see  definite  results.  There  were  times  when 


78  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

he  became  depressed  if  he  failed  to  see  immediate  conversions,  but  he 
had  lessons  to  learn  here  as  in  other  matters.  In  a  characteristic  story 
he  describes  how  he  learned  to  put  away  doubt  and  discouragement. 

"  One  Sunday,"  he  says,  "  I  had  preached  and  there  did  not  seem  to 
be  any  result.  On  the  Monday  I  was  very  much  cast  down.  I  was 
sitting  in  my  study,  brooding  over  my  want  of  success,  when  a  young 
man  who  conducted  a  Bible  class  of  one  hundred  adults  in  my 
Sabbath-school  called  upon  me.  As  he  came  in  I  could  see  he  was  . 
away  up  on  the  mountain  top,  while  I  was  down  in  the  valley. 
Said  he: 

"  '  What  kind  of  a  day  did  you  have  yesterday?  ' 

"  '  Very  poor ;  I  had  no  success,  and  I  feel  quite  cast  down.  How 
did  you  get  on  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  grandly !     I  never  had  a  better  day.' 

"  '  What  was  your  subject?  ' 

"  '  I  had  the  life  and  character  of  Noah.  Did  you  ever  preach  on 
Noah?  Did  you  ever  study  up  his  life?  ' 

"  '  Well,  no.  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  made  it  a  special  duty.  I 
thought  I  knew  pretty  well  all  there  was  in  the  Bible  about  him :  you 
know  it  is  all  contained  in  a  few  verses.' 

"  '  If  you  never  studied  it  before  you  had  better  do  it  now/  said 
he.  '  It  will  do  you  good.  Noah  was  a  wonderful  character.' 

"  When  the  young  man  went  away  I  got  out  my  Bible  and  some 
other  books  and  read  all  I  could  find  about  Noah.  I  had  not  been 
reading  long  before  the  thought  came  stealing  over  me :  '  Here  is 
a  man  who  toiled  on  for  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  and  never  had 
a  single  convert  outside  his  own  family.  Yet  he  did  not  get  dis- 
couraged.' 

"  I  closed  my  Bible;  the  cloud  had  gone;  I  started  out  to  a  noon 
prayer-meeting.  I  had  not  been  there  long  when  a  man  got  up  and 
said  he  had  come  from  a  little  town  in  Illinois.  On  the  day  before 
he  had  admitted  a  hundred  young  converts  to  church  membership. 
As  he  was  speaking  I  said  to  myself:  '  I  wonder  what  Noah  would 


City  Missionary  Work  79 

have  given  if  he  could  have  heard  that!  He  never  had  any  such 
results  from  his  labors/ 

"  Then  in  a  little  while  a  man  who  sat  right  behind  me  stood  up 
and  said :  '  I  wish  you  would  pray  for  me ;  I  would  like  to  become  a 
Christian.'  Thought  I  to  myself: '  I  wonder  what  Noah  would  have 
given  if  he  had  heard  that !  He  never  heard  a  single  soul  asking  God 
for  mercy,  yet  he  did  not  get  discouraged.' 

"  I  have  never  hung  my  harp  on  the  willows  since  that  day.  Let 
us  ask  God  to  take  away  the  clouds  and  unbelief;  let  us  get  out  of 
Doubting  Castle ;  let  us  move  forward  courageously  in  the  name  of 
our  God  and  expect  to  see  results." 

It  is  of  these  early  days  that  Dr.  H.  C.  Mabie  writes :  "  I  first  met 
Mr.  Moody  in  the  fall  of  1863,  in  Chicago.  I  had  come  into  the  city 
from  my  Illinois  home  on  a  farm,  to  enter  the  old  University  of  Chi- 
cago as  a  student.  I  was  then  sixteen  years  old.  Having  been  intro- 
duced to  Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs,  of  Chicago,  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Osgood,  of 
Indianapolis,  even  then  famous  Sunday-school  men  and  deeply  in- 
terested in  boys  and  young  men,  I  was  by  them  taken  down  to  the 
Methodist  Church  Block  to  visit,  for  my  first  time,  the  daily  noon 
prayer-meeting  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  This 
had  become  a  famous  meeting.  It  was  conducted  mostly  by  young 
laymen,  the  first  meeting  of  its  sort  I  had  ever  attended. 

"  As  we  passed  in  there  was  a  stocky,  bustling,  Simon  Peter  sort  of 
a  man  standing  at  the  door  and  shaking  hands  with  all  who  entered. 
He  spoke  an  earnest  word  to  each.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  this 
same  man  remained  to  speak  and  pray  with  an  inquirer  or  two  who 
had  shown  signs  of  interest  during  the  meeting.  This  honest  man 
was  Mr.  Moody,  and  it  made  an  impression  upon  me  for  life.  I  had 
never  before  seen  a  layman  so  making  it  his  business  to  press  men 
into  the  Kingdom  as  he  seemed  to  be  doing.  I  had  learned  to  expect 
that  of  ministers,  but  I  had  never  seen  a  layman  so  dead  in  earnest ; 
but  I  liked  it.  The  entire  uncommonness  of  the  thing  impressed  me, 
and  created  in  me  a  yearning  to  learn  the  divine  art  if  it  were  possible. 


80  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

It  soon  grew  to  be  a  mighty  desire  in  me,  and  it  was  not  many  months 
until,  in  the  summer  vacation,  I  found  myself  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
revival  in  my  native  town,  some  two  hundred  of  the  young  people 
being  gathered  in.  I  was  for  three  months  immersed  in  the  flood  of 
this  blessing.  This  was  several  years  before  I  had  any  definite  pur- 
pose formed  to  enter  the  ministry;  indeed,  I  was  never  conscious  of 
a  formal  resolution  on  that  subject  until  I  found  myself,  through  the 
pressure  exercised  by  others,  ordained.  I  was  simply  set  on  fire  by 
the  contagion  of  such  earnest  lives  as  I  had  seen  living  before  me  in 
that  circle  of  Chicago  laymen  of  whom  Mr.  Moody  was  the  leader, 
and  others  like  Messrs.  Jacobs,  Bliss,  Rockwell,  and  Cole  were  fore- 
most. Having  gotten  a  taste  of  their  joy  in  soul-winning,  I  never 
lost  it.  It  was  they  who  made  me  feel  the  responsibility  of  the  ordi- 
nary and  every-day  member  of  the  church  for  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners as  I  had  never  before  felt  it. 

"  The  Moody  of  later  years,  in  his  great  evangelistic  triumphs,  was 
simply  the  Moody  of  that  early  time  expanded,  enlarged,  manifolded 
by  the  thousand  and  one  auxiliaries  and  coadjutors  which,  by  his 
matchless  magnetism,  he  ever  continued  to  gather  about  him.  He 
had  the  greatest  power  to  set  others  to  work,  and  thus  multiply  him- 
self, of  any  man  I  ever  knew. 

"  When,  fourteen  years  later,  as  a  young  pastor  in  Boston,  I  was 
again  brought  into  contact  with  him  in  his  great  tabernacle  meetings 
in  1874,  I  once  more  came  under  his  spell.  It  was  but  to  find  myself 
a  willing  learner  at  his  feet  in  numberless  services  and  inquiry  meet- 
ings. His  own  force  of  will,  greatly  enlarged  by  his  contact  with 
eminent  British  workers,  keyed  to  the  high  purpose  of  saving  men, 
made  us  all  feel  we  were  enabled  to  do  anything  we  ought  to  do  so 
long  as  we  were  under  his  command.  Hence,  as  we  would  obey  his 
summons  to  go  down  into  the  lower  Tremont  Temple  to  deal  with 
inquirers,  or  to  the  market  men's  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  or  to  the 
shoe  dealers'  meeting  on  High  Street,  or  where  not,  we  confidently 
went,  feeling  we  could  not  wholly  fail  because  he  sent  us." 


CHAPTER   VIII 
THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION 

"  T  AM  going  to  join  the  Christian  Association  to-morrow  night," 
Mr.  Moody  had  written  to  his  brother  under  date  of  April 
19,  1854,  immediately  after  leaving  home  for  Boston. 
"  Then  I  shall  have  a  place  to  go  to  when  I  want  to  go  away  any- 
where, and  I  can  have  all  the  books  I  want  to  read  free  and  only  have 
to  pay  one  dollar  a  year.  They  have  a  large  room,  and  the  smart 
men  of  Boston  lecture  to  them  for  nothing,  and  they  get  up  a  question 
box."  These  attractions  and  benefits  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  were  keenly  appreciated  by  young  Moody  from  the  first. 
On  his  arrival  in  Chicago  he  joined  the  Association,  which  had  re- 
cently been  organized  in  that  city  as  one  of  the  results  of  the  revival 
movement,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  the  noonday  prayer-meet- 
ings conducted  under  its  auspices. 

After  giving  up  business  he  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  Associa- 
tion work,  with  which  he  was  closely  identified  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  War. 

In  the  days  that  followed  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  Chicago,  like 
all  the  other  cities  in  the  Union,  felt  the  greatest  excitement.  Camp 
Douglas  was  formed  near  the  southern  limits  of  the  city,  and  there 
recruits  were  massed  and  instructed.  Among  these  new  soldiers 
were  a  large  number  of  "  Moody's  boys  "  of  the  North  Market  Hall. 
A  company  was  also  raised  among  his  friends  and  former  associates 
in  business,  and  on  all  sides  he  was  urged  to  enter  the  service  of  his 
country. 


82  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody. 

The  cause  of  the  Union  appealed  to  him  most  strongly,  for  by  all 
the  traditions,  of  his  home  and  his  New  England  training  he  was  an 
ardent  abolitionist.  During  his  stay  in  Boston  he  listened  frequently 
to  the  eloquence  of  such  orators  as  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell 
Phillips,  and  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy. 

His  uncle's  boot  and  shoe  store  on  Court  Street  was  opposite  the 
court-house,  and  there  he  joined  in  the  mob  that  attempted  the 
liberation  of  Anthony  Burns,  a  fugitive  slave.  On  this  occasion  the 
hot-headed  youth  of  Boston  were  dispersed  by  the  soldiers'  musketry, 
but  the  event  left  an  impression  even  greater  than  the  eloquence  of 
Faneuil  Hall.  Later,  when  an  employee  at  Wiswall's  boot  and 
shoe  store,  the  clerks  from  neighboring  houses,  who  met  frequently 
with  Mr.  Moody  and  his  fellow-salesmen,  constituted  themselves  into 
a  lyceum,  where  the  points  of  political  difference  between  the  North 
and  South  were  warmly  discussed  by  representatives  of  both  sides. 

In  spite  of  all  this  he  could  not  conscientiously  enlist.  "  There 
has  never  been  a  time  in  my  life  when  I  felt  that  I  could  take  a  gun 
and  shoot  down  a  fellow-being.  In  this  respect  I  am  a  Quaker,"  was 
his  explanation.  At  the  same  time  he  was  alive  to  the  opportunity 
for  doing  good  offered  by  the  military  camps,  and  at  once  assisted 
in  forming  an  Army  and  Navy  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  consisting  of  J.  V.  Farwell,  B.  F.  Jacobs,  and  himself. 
Later  this  work  was  affiliated  with  the  Northwestern  Branch  of  the 
Christian  Commission. 

The  first  Christian  work  undertaken  by  the  commission  consisted 
of  services  held  among  the  soldiers  that  passed  through  Chicago.  On 
the  forming  of  Camp  Douglas  a  work  was  organized  which  resulted 
in  the  erection  of  a  small  temporary  chapel,  in  which  over  fifteen 
hundred  meetings  were  held.  Edgar  W.  Hawley,  who  was  among 
Mr.  Moody's  oldest  associates  in  Christian  work  in  Chicago,  thus 
describes  the  beginning  of  this  work  : 

"  At  one  time  there  were  about  twelve  thousand  men  there.  Regi- 
ments were  coming  in  and  others  going  to  the  front  all  the  time.  The 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  83 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association  had  a  chapel  for  the  use  of  the 
men,  where  frequent  meetings  were  held.  The  Western  Branch  of 
the  Christian  Commission  included  among  its  members  J.  V.  Farwell, 
B.  F.  Jacobs,  Mr.  Moody,  and  several  others.  We  issued  an  '  Army 
Hymn  Book '  with  an  American  flag  on  the  front  page,  and  it  was 
distributed  freely  among  the  soldiers.  We  visited  the  tents  and 
barracks  and  found  the  men  playing  cards,  and  proposed  to  exchange 
our  hymn-books  for  the  cards.  The  soldiers  agreed  quickly  enough; 
indeed,  so  numerous  were  these  exchanges  that  several  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  rooms  were  full  of  playing-cards  which 
the  men  had  surrendered.  This  camp  was  finally  struck,  the  men 
having  all  gone  to  the  war.  General  Grant  had  captured  Fort  Donel- 
son  and  taken  ten  thousand  Confederate  prisoners,  of  whom  about 
nine  thousand  were  sent  to  Chicago  and  placed  in  Camp  Douglas 
with  a  regiment  of  our  men  as  guards.  It  was  a  period  of  popular 
apprehension,  and  the  people  of  the  city  were  very  nervous.  A  week 
afterward,  at  the  close  of  a  Union  prayer-meeting,  Moody  said  to  me : 

' '  Hawley,  let  us  go  down  and  hold  a  meeting  there  in  the  chapel 
with  the  prisoners.'  It  was  about  five  miles  down  to  the  camp,  and  as 
we  got  near  the  entrance  Moody  said : 

' '  Hawley,  here  is  a  ministerial  pass;  take  it.' 

' '  But  how  will  you  get  in  past  the  guard  ?  ' 

' '  In  some  way ! '  was  the  confident  reply.  The  guard  passed  me 
right  in,  but  Moody  was  halted  by  fixed  bayonets. 

' '  Stand  back ! '  came  the  stern  order. 

' '  I  am  Moody,  the  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation,' he  explained  to  the  soldier. 

' '  I  don't  care  who  you  are;  you  can't  get  in  here ! '  At  that  mo- 
ment a  captain  who  was  passing  stepped  up  and  recognized  the 
evangelist.  To  him  Moody  appealed. 

"  '  Let  me  in,'  he  urged, '  for  the  work's  sake.'  The  officer  turned 
to  the  guard. 

"  '  Let  one  of  your  men  take  Mr.  Moody  to  headquarters;  I  will  be 


84  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

responsible.'  We  marched  in,  Moody  under  military  guard.  On 
the  matter  being  explained  at  headquarters  the  officer  in  charge  said : 

"  '  Well,  seeing  you  are  here  and  considering  your  object,  you  may 
stay,  but  don't  repeat  it.  If  you  are  not  out  of  here  by  eight  P.M. 
you  go  into  the  guard-house  for  the  night.'  We  went  to  the  chapel, 
arranged  things,  and  invited  the  men.  It  was  soon  packed  full. 
Turning  to  me  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  Moody  said : 

"  '  Now,  Hawley,  you  preach.'  I  remonstrated  and  said  I  wasn't 
a  minister. 

"  '  But  you  came  in  on  a  ministerial  pass  and  I  didn't,'  he  persisted. 
So  I  quietly  acquiesced,  and  we  had  an  interesting  service.  Mr. 
Moody  took  charge,  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
came  down  upon  these  men  with  great  power.  They  came  forward 
to  the  altar — twenty,  thirty,  forty  at  a  time.  We  closed  the  meeting 
and  began  inquiry  work.  Moody  had  the  platform,  and  God  used 
him  wonderfully.  The  whole  audience  melted,  and  we  saw  strong 
men  in  tears.  '  God  is  here ! '  Moody  whispered  to  me. 

"  We  looked  at  our  watches.  It  was  but  a  few  seconds  of  eight, 
and  we  had  to  run  to  get  out  of  camp,  having  no  notion  of  passing  a 
night  in  the  guard-house.  These  meetings  we  kept  up  two  or  three 
weeks,  and  many  were  converted.  We  formed  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  branch  at  the  camp,  and  there  were  many  kind 
expressions  of  gratitude  even  from  the  higher  officers,  who  were 
greatly  pleased  with  the  work." 

In  a  letter  to  his  mother,  at  this  time,  Moody  wrote : 

"  I  am  now  at  work  among  the  soldiers  a  good  deal.  I  had  a  good 
time  in  Kentucky.  The  boys  wanted  to  have  me  become  their  chap- 
lain, but  my  friends  would  not  let  me  go,  so  I  shall  remain  in  the 
city.  ...  I  would  like  to  see  you  all  and  talk  with  you  about 
my  Saviour,  who  seems  so  near  to  me.  Oh,  what  would  life  be  with- 
out Christ !  I  sometimes  get  to  looking  down  on  this  world  of  sin, 
but  when  I  look  to  Jesus  it  makes  me  look  up." 

By  gospel  services,  prayer-meetings,  song  services,  distribution  of 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  85 

Bibles,  books,  and  tracts,  and  by  personal  visitation,  he  tried  to  win 
the  soldiers  to  Christ.  He  organized  the  Christians  into  "  Bands  of 
Brothers,"  who  were  to  carry  "  the  Banner  of  Christ "  with  them, 
and  be  loyal  to  one  another  and  to  their  Divine  Captain.  The 
experiences  gathered  from  this  work  constituted  most  efficient  train- 
ing for  his  later  career  as  an  evangelist.  His  sermons  show  many  an 
evidence  of  the  Christian  Commission  work  in  the  numerous  illus- 
trations drawn  from  his  interviews  with  the  soldiers.  Even  camp 
phraseology  left  a  permanent  influence  upon  his  vocabulary,  and  in 
organizing  large  conventions  or  conducting  evangelistic  campaigns 
he  would  call  upon  some  worker  to  "  reinforce  "  another,  and  would 
urge  his  associates  to  "  press  the  fight  all  along  the  line." 

The  peculiar  surroundings  and  impressive  conditions  under  which 
the  work  was  conducted  made  it  necessary  to  urge  his  hearers  to 
accept  immediate  salvation,  and  this  was  ever  afterwards  a  con- 
spicuous feature  of  his  manner  of  address.  With  wounded  men, 
hovering  between  life  and  death,  or  with  men  on  the  march,  resting  in 
some  place  which  they  would  have  to  leave  the  next  day,  it  was,  at 
least  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  the  alternative  of "  now  or  never  " ;  as 
he  would  not  allow  himself  or  them  to  be  satisfied  with  "  never,"  he 
bent  his  whole  energies  to  "  now." 

He  was  on  the  ground  ministering  to  the  wounded  after  the  battles 
of  Pittsburg  Landing,  Shiloh,  and  Murfreesboro' ;  he  was  with  the 
army  at  Chattanooga,  and  among  the  first  to  enter  Richmond. 

It  was  after  one  of  these  battles  that  the  following  incident  oc- 
curred, which  Mr.  Moody  himself  frequently  related : 

"  We  were  taking  a  large  number  of  wounded  men  down  the  Ten- 
nessee River  after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing.  A  number  of 
young  men  of  the  Christian  Commission  were  with  me,  and  I  told 
them  that  we  must  not  let  a  man  die  on  the  boat  that  night  without 
telling  him  of  Christ  and  Heaven. 

"  You  know  the  cry  of  a  wounded  man  is  '  Water !  water ! '  As 
we  passed  along  from  one  to  another  giving  them  water,  we  tried  to 


86  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

tell  them  of  the  water  of  life,  of  which  if  they  would  drink  they  would 
never  die.  I  came  to  one  man  who  had  about  as  fine  a  face  as  I 
ever  saw.  I  spoke  to  him,  but  he  did  not  answer.  I  went  to  the 
doctor  and  said : 

"  '  Doctor,  do  you  think  that  man  will  recover? ' 

"  '  No,  he  lost  so  much  blood  before  we  got  to  him  on  the  field  that 
he  fainted  while  we  were  amputating  his  leg.  He  will  never  recover.' 

"  I  said :  '  I  can't  find  out  his  name,  and  it  seems  a  pity  to  let  him 
die  without  knowing  who  he  is.  Don't  you  think  we  can  bring  him 
to?' 

"  *  You  may  give  him  a  little  brandy  and  water/  said  the  doctor; 
'  that  will  revive  him  if  anything  will.' 

"  I  sat  down  beside  him  and  gave  him  brandy  and  water  every 
now  and  then.  While  I  was  waiting  I  said  to  a  man  near  by : 

"  '  Do  you  know  this  man  ?  ' 

"  '  Oh,  yes,  that  is  my  chum.' 

"  '  Has  he  a  father  and  mother  living?  ' 

"  '  He  has  a  widowed  mother.' 

"  '  Has  he  any  brothers  or  sisters?  ' 
'  Two  sisters;  but  he  is  the  only  son.' 
'' (  What  is  his  name  ?  ' 

"  '  William  Clark.' 

"  I  said  to  myself  that  I  could  not  let  him  die  without  getting  a 
message  for  that  mother.  Presently  he  opened  his  eyes,  and  I  said : 

"  '  William,  do  you  know  where  you  are  ?  ' 

"  He  looked  around  a  little  dazed,  and  then  said :  '  Oh,  yes !  I  am 
on  my  way  home  to  mother.' 

"  '  Yes,  you  are  on  your  way  home,'  I  said ;  *  but  the  doctor  says 
you  won't  reach  your  earthly  home.  I  thought  I'd  like  to  ask  you  if 
you  had  any  message  for  your  mother.' 

"  His  face  lighted  up  with  an  unearthly  glow  as  he  said :  '  Oh,  yes, 
tell  my  mother  that  I  died  trusting  in  Jesus ! ' 

"  It  was  one  of  the  sweetest  messages  I  ever  heard  in  my  life !  " 


(Oifirr  llottuj)  iUfn's  (Uhristinn  Association. 


NORTH  MARKET  HALL  SABBATH  SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION 


D.  L.  MOODY  DURING  EARLY  YEARS  IN  CHICAGO. 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  89 

On  returning  to  Chicago  Mr.  Moody  at  once  looked  up  the  wid- 
owed mother  and  two  sisters  and  delivered  the  message  from  the 
dying  soldier.  As  he  was  leaving  the  house  one  of  the  sisters,  only 
a  child  at  the  time,  came  to  him  and  gave  him  the  small  savings  of 
her  sister  and  herself  with  the  request  that  he  purchase  a  Bible  to  give 
to  some  soldier.  When  he  went  back  to  the  front  Mr.  Moody  related 
this  incident,  asking  who  wanted  that  Bible,  and  there  were  a  num- 
ber of  petitions  for  it. 

Soon  after  God  called  the  children  to  join  their  brother,  but  not 
till  their  childish  ministry  had  been  used  as  a  blessing  to  many  a 
soldier. 

Another  war  incident  that  Mr.  Moody  frequently  repeated  oc- 
curred after  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro'.  "  I  was  stationed  in  the 
hospital,"  he  said.  "  For  two  nights  I  had  been  unable  to  get  rest, 
and  being  really  worn  out,  on  the  third  night  I  had  lain  down  to 
sleep.  About  midnight  I  was  called  to  see  a  wounded  soldier  who 
was  very  low.  At  first  I  tried  to  put  the  messenger  off,  but  he  told 
me  that  if  I  waited  till  morning  it  might  be  too  late.  So  I  went  to  the 
ward  where  I  had  been  directed,  and  found  the  man  who  had  sent 
for  me.  I  shall  never  forget  his  face  as  I  saw  it  that  night  in  the  dim, 
uncertain  candle-light.  I  asked  what  I  could  do  for  him,  and  he  said 
that  he  wanted  me  to  '  help  him  to  die.'  I  told  him  I  would  bear 
him  in  my  arms  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  if  I  could,  but  I  couldn't. 
Then  I  tried  to  preach  the  Gospel.  He  only  shook  his  head  and  said : 

"  '  He  can't  save  me ;  I  have  sinned  all  my  life.' 

"  My  thoughts  went  back  to  his  loved  ones  in  the  North,  and  I 
thought  that  even  then  his  mother  might  be  praying  for  her  boy.  I 
repeated  promise  after  promise,  and  prayed  with  the  dying  man,  but 
nothing  I  said  seemed  to  help  him.  Then  I  said  that  I  wanted  to 
read  to  him  an  account  of  an  interview  that  Christ  had  one  night 
while  here  on  earth — an  interview  with  a  man  who  was  anxious  about 
his  eternal  welfare.  I  read  from  the  third  chapter  of  John,  how 
Nicodemus  came  to  the  Master.  As  I  read  on,  his  eyes  became 
6 


90  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

riveted  upon  me,  and  he  seemed  to  drink  in  every  syllable.  When 
I  came  to  the  words,  'As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness, 
even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up :  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life,'  he  stopped  me  and 
asked : 

'"Is  that  there?' 

"  '  Yes,'  I  said. 

"  '  Well/  he  said,  '  I  never  knew  that  was  in  the  Bible.  Read  it 
again.'  Leaning  on  his  elbow  on  the  side  of  the  cot,  he  brought  his 
hands  together  tightly,  and  when  I  finished  he  exclaimed: 

"  '  That's  good !  Won't  you  read  it  again  ?  '  Slowly  I  repeated 
the  passage  the  third  time.  When  I  finished  I  saw  that  his  eyes  were 
closed,  and  the  troubled  expression  on  his  face  had  given  way  to  a 
peaceful  smile.  His  lips  moved,  and  I  bent  over  him  to  catch  what 
he  was  saying,  and  heard  in  a  faint  whisper : 

"  '  As  Moses  lifted  up — the  serpent — in  the  wilderness, — even  so — 
must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up : — that  whosoever — believeth  in 
Him — should  not  perish, — but  have  eternal  life.' 

"  He  opened  his  eyes  and  said :  '  That's  enough ;  don't  read  any 
more.'  Early  next  morning  I  again  came  to  his  cot,  but  it  was  empty. 
The  attendant  in  charge  told  me  that  the  young  man  had  died  peace- 
fully, and  said  that  after  my  visit  he  had  rested  quietly,  repeating 
to  himself,  now  and  then,  that  glorious  proclamation :  '  Whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.'  " 

The  following  description  of  one  of  the  journeys  Mr.  Moody  took 
to  the  scene  of  battle  is  sent  by  a  friend : 

"  During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1861  and  1862  I  was  a  medical 
student  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  saw  Mr.  Moody  almost  every  day 
as  he  went  hurrying  about  busily  engaged  in  his  good  work.  That 
was  in  the  early  days  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
he  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  active  promoters  of  that  Asso- 
ciation. The  great  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  was  fought  on  Sun- 
day and  Monday,  the  6th  and  7th  of  April,  1862;  the  news  reached 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  91 

Chicago  on  Tuesday,  the  8th,  and  on  Wednesday  morning  a  call  came 
for  physicians  and  nurses  for  the  wounded,  for  the  supply  of  both  was 
entirely  inadequate  for  the  work  to  be  done.  Accordingly  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  was  called  upon  to  send  as  many  nurses 
as  possible,  and  I,  being  a  medical  student,  was  invited  to  be  one  of 
the  company. 

"  A  special  train  was  made  up  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company,  and  by  five  or  six  o'clock  Wednesday  evening  we  were  at 
the  depot  ready  to  be  off.  Our  train  was  a  heavy  one,  carrying  about 
sixty  or  seventy-five  physicians  and  about  three  hundred  nurses, 
besides  many  supplies.  I  had  a  seat  in  the  centre  of  the  car,  which 
was  comfortably  full. 

"  When  we  were  two  or  three  hours  out  of  Chicago  and  every  one 
was  getting  settled  down  in  his  seat  for  the  night  (we  had  no  sleepers 
then)  I  was  aroused  by  a  gentle  tap  on  the  shoulder  and  asked  if  I 
would  not  attend  Mr.  Moody's  prayer-meeting,  which  was  then  to 
be  held  in  the  front  end  of  the  car.  I  wasn't  a  Christian  then  and  I 
didn't  go,  but  nevertheless  my  conscience  gave  me  a  stinging  rebuke 
and  I  was  set  to  thinking.  In  the  forward  end  of  that  car  was  Mr. 
Moody,  engaged  in  conducting  a  prayer-meeting;  in  the  rear  end 
was  a  company  of  men  playing  a  game  of  cards.  I  couldn't  help 
realizing  the  wonderful  zeal  of  the  man  in  his  great  work,  and  how 
earnest  and  how  careful  he  was  that  no  duty  be  neglected,  no  oppor- 
tunity lost.  We  reached  Cairo  on  Thursday,  April  loth,  were  trans- 
ferred from  our  train  to  the  steamer,  and  soon  on  our  way  up  the 
Ohio  and  Tennessee  rivers. 

"  When  evening  came  the  passengers  were  sitting  about  in  groups 
in  the  large  cabin.  Mr.  Moody,  with  his  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  assistants,  passed  through  the  crowd  and  again  invited 
the  men  to  attend  prayers  in  one  corner  of  the  large  room.  There 
again  he  conducted  a  service.  I  don't  remember  seeing  anything 
more  of  the  card-players.  As  on  the  first  evening  so  on  the  next, 
I  didn't  attend  prayers,  but  I  remember  that  among  those  who  didn't 


9  5  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

there  was  no  effort  made  to  disturb  the  meeting.  Nor  was  any  evi- 
dence of  disrespect  shown  as  far  as  I  could  see. 

"  On  Friday  afternoon  about  three  o'clock  we  reached  Pitsburg 
Landing,  and  were  at  once  sent  to  the  different  steamers  that  were 
standing  there,  loaded  with  hundreds  of  wounded  soldiers  waiting 
for  our  arrival,  and  so  were  scattered  in  all  directions.  I  saw  no  more 
of  Mr.  Moody  during  that  trip,  but  have  thought  of  this  circumstance 
many,  many  times  and  of  the  intense  Christian  zeal  by  which  he  was 
always  impelled." 

Many  an  instance  is  related  of  Mr.  Moody's  enthusiastic  admiration 
of  heroism,  and  this  was,  of  course,  accentuated  when  there  was  the 
added  quality  of  outspoken  loyalty  to  Christ.  Such  a  soldier  Mr. 
Moody  recognized  in  Major  Whittle,  who  was  then  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Seventy-second  Illinois.  After  the  battle  of  Vicksburg  in  1863 
this  young  officer  was  sent  home  severely  wounded.  His  popularity 
in  the  city  called  forth  a  great  demonstration  in  Chicago  on  his  return. 
The  American  Express  Company,  in  whose  service  he  had  been 
engaged,  sent  their  employees  with  a  band  of  music  and  all  their 
wagons  to  escort  him  from  the  station.  A  few  days  later  Lieutenant 
Whittle  was  asked  to  make  a  speech  at  a  patriotic  rally,  where  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  men  had  been  invited  to  speak.  Referring  to  this 
occasion,  Major  Whittle  says : 

"  I,  a  boy  of  twenty-one,  was  put  forward  to  speak,  with  Bishop 
Simpson  on  the  platform  behind  me  waiting  to  give  his  address.  I 
was  weak  from  my  wound,  and  felt  foolish  at  being  in  such  a  position. 
Directly  in  front  of  me,  in  the  centre  of  the  hall,  a  sturdy  young  man 
jumped  to  his  feet  and  cried : 

"  '  Give  him  three  cheers ! '  I  recognized  the  face  of  Mr.  Moody 
as  he  led  the  cheering  with  great  earnestness.  This  manifestation  of 
sympathy  nerved  me  for  the  few  words  that  followed,  and  I  have  often 
thought  it  was  a  specimen  of  what  his  courage,  faith,  and  example 
have  been  to  me  all  through  his  life.  When  I  told  him  some  time 
afterward  of  how  much  good  his  sympathy  had  done  me  that  night, 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  93 

and  how  vividly  I  remembered  his  earnest,  determined  look  as  he 
led  the  crowd,  I  was  rewarded  by  his  reply : 

" '  I  took  you  into  my  heart  that  night  and  you  have  been  there 
ever  since ! ' ' 

While  serving  with  the  command  of  Gen.  O.  O.  Howard,  who 
was  in  thorough  sympathy  with  his  efforts,  Mr.  Moody's  ministry  was 
especially  fruitful.  General  Howard  thus  speaks  of  his  work  in  the 
army: 

"  Moody  and  I  met  for  the  first  time  in  Cleveland,  East  Tennessee. 
It  was  about  the  middle  of  April,  1864.  I  was  bringing  together  my 
Fourth  Army  Corps.  Two  divisions  had  already  arrived,  and  were 
encamped  in  and  near  the  village.  Moody  was  then  fresh  and  hearty, 
full  of  enthusiasm  for  the  Master's  work.  Our  soldiers  were  just 
about  to  set  out  on  what  we  all  felt  promised  to  be  a  hard  and  bloody 
campaign,  and  I  think  we  were  especially  desirous  of  strong  preach- 
ing. Crowds  and  crowds  turned  out  to  hear  him.  He  showed  them 
how  a  soldier  could  give  his  heart  to  God.  His  preaching  was  direct 
and  effective,  and  multitudes  responded  with  a  promise  to  follow 
Christ." 

These  war-time  experiences  introduced. Mr.  Moody  to  a  larger 
field  by  bringing  him  prominently  before  the  whole  country.  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  noon  prayer-meetings  in  Chi- 
cago became  a  centre,  where  he  and  his  fellow-workers  met  and 
reported  on  their  frequent  excursions  to  the  front,  and  people  from 
all  over  the  Northwest  sent  in  requests  for  prayer  at  these  meetings, 
on  behalf  of  husbands,  brothers,  and  sons. 

When  the  Spanish  War  broke  out,  and  thousands  of  young  men 
were  again  gathered  into  army  camps,  Mr.  Moody's  heart  went  out 
toward  them  with  the  same  longing  that  had  urged  him  on  during 
the  Civil  War.  His  experiences  in  1861-65  helped  him  to  arouse  the 
churches  in  this  new  emergency.  He  became  chairman  of  the  Evan- 
gelistic Department  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Christian  Commission, 
whose  method  of  work  was  fourfold :  (i)  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 


94  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

by  well-known  ministers  and  evangelists,  to  whom  the  men  would  lis- 
ten; (2)  the  placing  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  tents 
within  reach  of  every  regiment,  whither  the  men  might  go  as  a  place 
of  resort,  and  where  they  would  find  good  reading  and  writing  mate- 
rials; (3)  the  free  distribution  of  Bibles,  Testaments,  hymn-books,  and 
other  religious  books ;  and  (4)  the  visitation  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
in  hospitals.  The  following  letter,  which  he  wrote  at  this  time,  re- 
sulted in  great  blessing  to  thousands  of  soldiers  in  the  great  military 
camps  during  the  summer  of  1898 : 

"  Thirty  years  ago  war  clouds  gathered  over  our  land,  and  the 
church  of  God  was  aroused  as  I  have  never  seen  it  since  in  behalf  of 
the  young  men  of  America.  This  interest  expressed  itself  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Christian  Commission,  and  everywhere  efforts  were 
made  for  the  religious  interests  of  the  soldiers.  Meetings  were  held 
everywhere,  and  many  a  camp  became  the  scene  of  a  deep  and  effec- 
tive revival,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  been  continually 
meeting  men  who  were  converted  in  those  army  meetings. 

"  Now  the  dark  shadow  of  war  again  rests  upon  our  land.  Is  it 
not  possible  that  God  intends  to  use  even  the  darkness  of  this  evil  for 
the  blessing  of  the  youth  of  this  land ;  and  while  He  has  called  us  to 
become  the  instrument  of  His  justice  may  He  not  have  in  store  a 
season  of  revival  for  those  who,  brought  face  to  face  with  danger  and 
in  realization  of  the  seriousness  of  life,  may  be  reached,  when  at  other 
times  careless  and  indifferent?  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  just  the  nick 
of  time  in  which  to  reach  thousands  of  young  men  with  the  Gospel, 
either  through  a  Testament,  a  good  book,  or  the  spoken  message. 
A  minister  in  Philadelphia  writes  me  that  there  is  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  good  at  Tampa,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  other  camps 
offer  equally  favorable  conditions." 

Mr.  Moody  was  preaching  in  Pittsburg  when  one  of  the  first  regi- 
ments started  for  Cuba.  He  mentioned  that  incident  at  the  meeting, 
and  raised  several  hundred  dollars  inv  order  to  follow  these  young  sol- 
diers with  the  Gospel.  Major  Whittle,  Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon,  Rev.  R.  A, 


The  Civil  War  and  the  Christian  Commission  95 

Torrey,  and  others  were  sent,  and  an  appeal  was  made  for  money  to 
send  books  as  well  as  men.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
also  desired  to  send  workers  to  the  front,  and  the  War  Department 
deciding  that  it  could  have  only  one  religious  body  among  the  sol- 
diers, an  Army  and  Navy  Christian  Commission  was  organized,  and 
Mr.  Moody  was  made  chairman  of  the  Evangelistic  Department. 
The  object  of  the  organization  was  to  reach  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  army  and  navy,  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Bibles,  religious  books,  colportage  library  books,  and  the  new  "  Army 
Hymn  Book,"  compiled  by  Mr.  Sankey,  were  sent  in  great  quantities. 
Major  Whittle  gave  this  incident  among  many,  showing  the  very 
important  nature  of  the  work  done  through  this  agency : 

"  I  called  on  a  dying  lieutenant  this  morning,  who  said  that  he  was 
turned  to  God  at  the  first  meeting  held  in  the  camp.  I  did  not  know 
about  it  at  the  time,  but  my  heart  was  full  of  gratitude  to  God  as  the 
dying  man's  face  lit  up  in  recognition  of  me !  His  hot  hand  pressed 
mine  as  he  drank  in :  '  Him  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out/  and  other  Scripture  passages.  He  told  me  that  he  did  in  his 
heart  trust  Christ.  We  sang  to  him,  '  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee,' 
and  commended  him  to  God  in  prayer.  He  has  a  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  travelling  man,  and  unsaved  up  to  the  night  of  May 
27th.  The  doctor  said  there  was  no  help  and  that  he  would  die  to- 
day. If  God  has  been  pleased  to  use  my  coming  here  to  save  that 
one  soul,  I  will  praise  Him  through  eternity." 

Another  incident  is  given  herewith :  "  We  spend  our  forenoons 
going  to  the  hospitals.  There  are  about  one  thousand  men  at 
Chickamauga  in  the  various  hospitals,  sick  with  malarial  fever  and 
typhoid  fever,  and  every  day  brings  us  to  the  bedside  of  some  hungry, 
thirsty,  dying  soldier.  One  of  our  workers  went  to  a  hospital  and 
asked : 

"  '  May  I  go  in  and  see  the  sick  ?     Is  there  anything  I  can  do  ?  ' 

"  '  For  God's  sake,  yes,'  said  the  surgeon ;  '  go  with  that  woman. 
She  has  just  arrived  from  the  North,  and  I  can't  bear  to  tell  her  that 


96  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

her  boy  won't  recognize  her ;  he  is  dying ;  he  won't  live  five  minutes. 
Go  in  with  her.' 

"  So  he  went  in  and  stood  by  the  cot  where  this  soldier  was  breath- 
ing his  last.  He  couldn't  recognize  his  mother ;  and  this  mother,  a 
lady  dressed  in  black,  stood  there  at  the  foot  of  the  cot  watching  the 
last  breath  of  her  dying  boy.  And  when  at  last  his  soul  had  gone 
she  turned  back  the  sheet  that  covered  him,  and  there  upon  his  army 
shirt  was  a  badge  of  the  Epworth  League.  He  had  had  it  transferred 
from  his  soldier's  coat  to  his  shirt;  he  told  the  nurse  he  wanted  to 
wear  that  badge  when  he  was  dying. 

"  As  his  mother  looked  upon  it  she  burst  into  a  sob,  and  the  whole 
tent  of  sick  soldiers  and  the  doctors  and  nurses  sobbed  with  her. 
And  what  a  privilege  it  was  for  our  delegate  to  tell  that  mother :  '  I 
was  here  yesterday  and  talked  with  your  boy !  I  had  been  speaking 
with  this  man  here  about  being  a  Christian,  and  your  son  overheard 
it,  and  when  I  came  to  his  side  he  said :  "  Oh,  dear  me.  How  can 
that  man  get  along  without  Jesus?"  I  said  to  him:  "Are  you  a 
Christian?  "  And  with  a  smile  upon  his  young  face  he  said:  "  You 
bet  I  am,"  and  he  turned  back  the  sheet  and  showed  me  the  badge 
upon  his  breast,  and  I  talked  with  him  and  prayed  with  him.'  " 


CHAPTER   IX 
SUNDAY-SCHOOL  CONVENTION  WORK 

AT  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865  Mr.  Moody  returned  to  Chicago 
and  again  engaged  in  Sunday-school  work.  He  had  made 
known  his  purpose  to  his  former  associates  in  the  Christian 
Commission,  William  Reynolds  and  B.  F.  Jacobs,  by  announcing, 
"  When  the  war  is  ended  let's  give  our  strength  to  Sunday-school 
work." 

His  mission  school  in  Chicago  was  a  revelation.  William  Reynolds 
was  carrying  on  one  in  Peoria,  M.  C.  Hazard  was  superintending 
one  in  Galesburg,  but  there  may  have  been  others. 

Of  the  work  at  this  time,  Mr.  Hazard  says :  "  Mr.  Moody's  mission 
school  was  the  first  large  effort  in  this  direction.  The  reports  of  it 
were  stimulating.  Many  made  the  journey  to  Chicago  to  inspect 
it  and  find  out  its  methods.  Those  methods  were  widely  copied,  and 
the  success  of  that  school  caused  the  starting  of  many  others.  The 
mission  school  movement,  if  it  did  not  originate  with  Mr.  Moody, 
received  a  great  impulse  from  him.  He  popularized  it  and  gave  it 
strength  and  momentum. 

"  His  methods  in  getting  children  to  attend  it  were  unique.  He 
made  use  of  many  devices  to  draw  them  in.  In  his  recruiting  excur- 
sions his  pockets  were  almost  always  filled  with  oranges,  candy,  maple- 
sugar,  or  something  toothsome.  At  one  time  he  offered  a  squirrel 
with  its  cage  to  the  one  who  would  bring  in  the  largest  number  of 
scholars  within  a  specified  time.  He  was  fertile  in  expedients  to  lure 
in  the  boys  and  girls.  But  having  secured  them,  he  was  equally 


98  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

inventive  in  his  efforts  to  retain  them.  Once  on  his  roll,  he  looked 
after  them,  visiting  their  homes  if  absent,  and  taking  such  a  warm 
and  practical  interest  in  them  that  they  became  devotedly  attached 
to  him." 

But  Mr.  Moody  did  not  wait  for  Sunday-school  workers  to  come 
to  Chicago  to  learn  of  him — he  went  out  to  them.  He  began  holding 
conventions  in  behalf  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  work, 
in  which  some  of  his  Sunday-school  methods  and  experiences  were 
narrated  with  telling  effect.  The  organization  of  the  Illinois  State 
Sunday-school  Association,  however,  gave  him  his  great  opportunity. 

The  State  soon  became  enthusiastic  on  Sunday-school  work.  Great 
crowds  running  up  into  the  thousands  attended  its  conventions. 
"  The  Advance  "  reported  the  meeting  at  Duquoin,  and  fifty  thou- 
sand copies  of  the  paper  were  ordered  by  the  State  Association  for 
distribution.  The  reports  of  some  of  the  subsequent  meetings  were 
similarly  widely  scattered.  What  was  being  done  in  Illinois  stimu- 
lated other  States  to  imitation.  Thus  the  movement  spread  from 
State  to  State,  resulting  finally  in  national  gatherings,  and  they  in 
international  assemblies. 

The  first  State  convention  of  the  Illinois  Sunday-school  Union  was 
held  in  March,  1859,  but  owing  to  the  Civil  War,  which  engrossed 
attention  by  its  large  needs  and  opportunities  for  Christian  effort,  it 
was  not  until  1864  that  the  second  convention  could  be  held. 

On  learning  of  the  arrangements  for  this  gathering,  Mr.  Moody  at 
once  planned  to  be  present.  "  The  Sunday-school  convention  is  to 
be  held  in  Springfield,  beginning  on  Tuesday  morning,"  he  an- 
nounced to  his  friends,  Mr.  Jacobs  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Harwood.  "  Let's 
go  to  Springfield  on  Friday  evening  and  visit  all  the  pastors,  super- 
intendents, and  choirs,  and  hold  special  meetings  on  Sunday  and  Mon- 
day and  see  if  the  convention  can  be  something  besides  a  parade." 
The  proposition  seemed  practical,  and  on  the  Friday  evening  pre- 
ceding the  convention  the  three  started  for  Springfield.  On  their 
arrival  the  following  morning  they  went  to  the  hotel,  and  after  break- 


Sunday-School  Convention  Work  99 

fast  set  out  in  search  of  some  quiet  place  for  their  prayer-meetings. 
The  Baptist  church  near  by  seemed  to  offer  what  they  were  looking 
for,  and  they  entered  it  through  the  basement.  The  three  delegates 
seated  themselves  on  the  pulpit  sofa  and  used  the  large  Bible  on  the 
desk,  from  which  they  read.  Then  they  knelt  in  prayer,  and  while 
thus  engaged  the  door  opened.  When  the  prayer  was  ended  Rev. 
N.  D.  Miner,  the  pastor,  who  had  entered  meantime,  came  up  to 
them,  saying: 

"  You  are  welcome,  brethren,  whoever  you  may  be !  " 

Arrangements  were  at  once  made  for  special  meetings  there.  The 
convention  was  well  attended,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Sunday  after- 
noon service  a  number  of  conversions  took  place,  while  the  following 
meetings  on  Sunday  and  Monday  awakened  a  deep  religious  interest 
in  the  community.  By  the  time  the  convention  assembled  on  Tues- 
day the  town  was  in  the  midst  of  a  revival,  in  which  the  Sunday-school 
delegates  took  an  earnest  part.  Many  of  these  were  deeply  affected 
and  carried  the  influence  of  the  convention  into  all  parts  of  the  State. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  Chicago  Sunday-school  Union  decided 
to  perfect  its  organization;  the  Rev.,  now  Bishop,  John  H.  Vincent 
was  called  from  his  church  and  became  the  superintendent  of  the 
Union,  and  on  January  I,  1865,  began  the  publication  of  "  The  Chi- 
cago Sunday-school  Teacher."  This  proved  a  bond  of  strength  to 
the  Chicago  Sunday-school  workers,  and  in  1866  Mr.  Moody  became 
the  vice-president  of  the  Union. 

At  the  convention  held  in  Peoria  in  1865  Mr.  Moody  was  made  a 
member  of  the  State  Sunday-school  Executive  Committee,  which  de- 
vised a  plan  for  canvassing  all  the  counties  and  securing  their  local 
organization.  To  this  action  may  be  traced  the  system  that  now 
exists  in  America.  The  State  was  divided  into  districts,,  and  Mr. 
Moody  and  others  volunteered  to  attend  conventions.  He  went  with 
an  earnest  purpose  and  a  burning  zeal  that  were  felt  everywhere 
throughout  the  State. 

The  reports  of  his  work  created  a  demand  for  services  in  other 


W/ERSITY  OF  REDLANOS  LI 

100  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

places,  which  he  met,  as  is  indicated  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  to  his  mother : 

"  The  Lord  is  blessing  my  labors,  and  I  think  you  would  say, '  God 
bless  you ;  go  forward.'  ...  I  was  away  all  last  week  to  Sunday- 
school  conventions.  Have  got  to  go  again  this  week,  and  all  of  next 
week,  so  you  see  I  am  driven  more  than  I  ever  was  in  my  life.  I  have 
crowded  houses  wherever  I  go.  Last  week  the  house  was  full  and 
the  sidewalk  outside,  so  they  had  to  open  another  church,  and  I  spoke 
in  two  houses.  The  Lord  blessed  me  very  much,  and  the  work  com- 
menced in  good  earnest,  so  they  have  sent  for  me  again." 

"  I  was  invited  to  go  down  into  a  little  town  in  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan," he  relates  of  the  beginning  of  a  certain  revival.  "  A  minister, 
who  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  me,  came  to  the  depot  to  meet  me  and 
took  me  to  his  house  to  dinner.  After  dinner  he  took  me  out  to  the 
meeting.  There  were  about  twenty-five  wives  and  mothers  on  their 
knees,  as  I  went  into  that  house,  weeping  and  praying  to  God  to  bless 
their  unconverted  children  and  their  unconverted  husbands. 

"  Then  he  took  me  off  to  the  other  end  of  the  town  and  introduced 
me  to  an  old  elder  of  the  church.  The  man  was  dying  with  consump- 
tion, and  now  that  he  had  given  up  and  could  not  get  out  of  the  house, 
he  began  to  realize  that  he  had  not  been  a  faithful  steward.  And  yet 
he  must  soon  give  an  account  before  God  of  his  stewardship.  There 
was  not  a  young  person  in  the  whole  congregation  who  was  a  member 
of  the  church — not  one  of  the  sons  or  daughters  of  the  officers  and 
elders  or  members  had  joined  it.  There  had  not  been  a  revival  there 
for  a  great  many  years.  First  he  himself  began  to  pray.  Then  he 
sent  for  his  brother  elders  and  told  them  how  he  felt,  and  wanted  to 
have  them  pray.  They  had  become  so  discouraged  and  disheartened 
that  they  could  not.  Then  he  sent  for  the  men  of  the  church  and 
talked  to  them.  They  too  had  become  discouraged.  Then  'he  sent 
for  the  women  of  the  church,  and  there  the  dying  man  pleaded  with 
them  to  meet  together  to  pray  for  God  to  revive  His  work.  This 
had  been  going  on  for  two  weeks  when  I  got  there. 


Sunday-School  Convention  Work  101 

"  That  night  I  preached,  and  it  was  as  if  I  was  preaching  against 
the  air.  It  seemed  as  if  every  word  came  back  to  me.  But  about 
midnight,  a  boy  came  downstairs  to  his  father,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  church  and  a  professed  Christian,  and  said :  '  Father,  I  want  to 
have  you  pray  for  me.'  The  father  said  he  could  not  pray.  He 
didn't  sleep  any  that  night.  But  the  next  morning,  at  the  prayer- 
meeting,  he  got  up  and  told  us  about  it,  and  said  he  wanted  to  have  us 
pray  for  him.  A  father  that  professed  to  be  a  Christian  and  could 
not  pray  for  his  own  boy,  who  was  weeping  over  his  sins ! 

"  Well,  we  prayed  for  him,  and  inside  of  twenty-four  hours  there 
was  not  a  young  person  upwards  of  twelve  years  old  whose  father  or 
mother  was  a  member  of  that  church  that  did  not  give  evidence  of 
being  converted.  God  came  suddenly  to  His  temple,  and  there  was 
a  mighty  work — I  think  one  of  the  grandest,  one  of  the  best  works 
I  have  ever  seen  in  my  life.  The  work  was  revived  as  soon  as  the 
church  began  to  pray  to  God  to  revive  it." 

When  Mr.  Moody  belonged  to  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
State  Sunday-school  Association  he  would  often  turn  a  county  con- 
vention into  a  prayer-meeting  or  a  revival  meeting.  At  Pontiac,  111., 
there  was  a  revival  that  swept  through  the  county.  Several  lawyers 
joined  the  church,  and  the  court  adjourned  at  ten  minutes  before 
twelve  to  attend  the  noon  prayer-meeting.  The  revival  began  by  Mr. 
Moody's  going  through  the  town  one  day  and  talking  to  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  he  met.  Approaching  a  group  of  politicians,  he 
heard  one  of  them  say  of  a  proposed  nominee : 

"  I  think  that  man  could  carry  the  county." 

"  My  friend,"  interrupted  Mr.  Moody,  "  we  want  to  carry  this 
county  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  " 

The  politician,  with  a  Westerner's  appreciation  of  a  joke,  slapped 
Mr.  Moody  on  the  shoulder,  burst  into  a  laugh,  and  cried  out :  "  I  am 
with  you  there,  old  fellow ! " 

Mr.  Moody's  words  became  the  watchcry  of  that  whole  religious 
movement. 


102  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

In  writing  of  these  early  experiences  in  Sunday-school  convention 
work  Mr.  Jacobs  relates  the  following  incident : 

"  Perhaps  the  most  dramatic  scene  that  has  ever  occurred  in  an 
Illinois  Sunday-school  convention  was  at  Quincy  in  1870.  Philip  C. 
Gillette  was  chosen  president,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  a  few  per- 
sons, who,  seeing  the  power  of  the  convention,  were  trying  to  turn  it 
into  a  different  channel.  Watching  for  an  opportunity,  they  selected 
the  time  when  Mr.  Moody  was  answering  questions  that  had  been 
submitted  in  writing,  and  dropped  into  the  box  an  inquiry  that  re- 
flected unpleasantly  upon  the  Executive  Committee. 

"  Mr.  Moody  first  read  the  question,  and  then  with  great  power 
reviewed  the  work  of  the  committee,  disclaiming  credit  for  himself, 
magnifying  the  work  of  the  others.  In  his  own  effective  way  he  spoke 
of  the  continued  blessing  that  had  rested  on  them,  as  a  token  of  God's 
approval.  He  closed  by  tendering  the  resignation  of  all  the  members 
of  the  committee,  and  then  said : '  Let  us  pray.'  In  a  prayer  of  sweet- 
ness and  power  he  led  the  congregation  near  to  God.  He  remem- 
bered those  who  had  made  an  attempt  to  turn  the  convention  aside 
from  its  great  work,  and  prayed  for  them  too.  The  effect  was  in- 
describable. The  audience,  estimated  at  three  thousand  persons,  was 
greatly  moved,  and,  upon  motion,  the  committee  were  reflected  by 
acclamation." 

Other  States  shared  with  Illinois  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Moody's  help  in 
Sunday-school  work.  He  attended  county  and  State  conventions  in 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and  Iowa.  It  was  at  the  Minnesota 
Sunday-school  convention,  held  in  Winona,  that  Mr.  Moody  first 
met  Miss  Mary  V.  Lee  and  Miss  Sara  J.  Timanus.  Both  were  teachers 
in  the  Minnesota  State  Normal  School.  After  hearing  them  speak 
and  teach,  Mr.  Moody  conferred  with  others  about  them,  and  they 
went  to  Illinois  and  attended  county  conventions.  Following  this, 
Miss  Timanus,  now  Mrs.  W.  F.  Crafts,  was  employed  by  Mr.  Moody 
and  Mr.  Jacobs  to  superintend  the  primary  classes  of  their  Sunday- 
schools  and  attend  county  Sunday-school  conventions.  She 


Sunday-School  Convention  Work  103 

was  for  twelve  years  president  of  the  International  Primary 
Union. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Sunday-school  lessons  had  been  entirely  a  mat- 
ter of  selection  with  the  teachers  of  individual  classes,  or  at  best  with 
the  officers  of  a  Sunday-school.  Instead  of  a  system  of  Bible  study 
for  everybody  each  class  was  following  its  own  course.  The  possi- 
bilities of  a  general  system  of  Sunday-school  instruction  now  occurred 
to  Mr.  Moody  and  his  associates  in  the  State  Sunday-school  work. 

The  subject  was  first  agitated  in  Chicago,  where  a  number  of 
schools  were  induced  to  use  the  same  lesson.  The  advantages  of  the 
plan  were  evident  immediately,  and  Mr.  Moody  continued  to  urge  its 
general  adoption.  Later  the  system  was  accepted  by  the  State  Sun- 
day-school Union,  and  in  1868  Mr.  Moody,  who  then  published  a 
periodical  called  "  The  Heavenly  Tidings,"  induced  Mr.  Jacobs  to 
contribute  brief  notes  on  these  lessons.  In  other  State  Sunday- 
school  conventions,  where  he  was  increasingly  in  demand,  Mr. 
Moody  urged  the  system  of  lessons  adopted  by  Illinois.  It  was  widely 
appreciated,  so  that  in  1869,  at  the  National  Sunday-school  Conven- 
tion in  Newark,  N.  J.,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  arrange  what 
has  since  become  the  International  Sunday-school  Series  of  Bible 
Lessons. 

Mr.  Moody  always  retained  his  deep  interest  in  the  work  in  which 
he  was  engaged  at  this  time.  Even  after  he  began  to  devote  himself 
more  fully  to  evangelistic  work  he  frequently  attended  the  conven- 
tions of  Sunday-school  workers.  In  1876  he  was  made  president  of 
the  Illinois  State  Sunday-school  Union.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
the  Galesburg  (111.)  Convention  in  1880,  and  was  a  daily  speaker  at 
the  International  Convention  held  in  Boston  in  1896.  At  this  latter 
gathering  his  old  fervor  was  manifested,  and  he  tried  to  awaken  all 
the  delegates  to  their  personal  responsibilities  in  the  salvation  of  the 
children  intrusted  to  their  teaching. 

"  Again  and  again  did  he  plead  with  the  Sunday-school  workers  to 
be  faithful,"  writes  a  friend  who  was  present,  "  His  voice,  full  of 


IO4  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

pathos,  seems  to  those  who  heard  it  to  sound  forth  even  now  the 
solemn  words : 

"  '  If  I  had  the  trumpet  of  God,  and  could  speak  to  every  Sunday- 
school  teacher  in  America,  I  would  plead  with  each  one  to  lead  at 
least  one  soul  to  Christ  this  year ! ' ' 


D.  L.  MOODY'S  MOTHER. 

From  a  portrait  taken  in   1867. 


CHAPTER   X 
EARLY  EVANGELISTIC  EFFORTS 

A  LTHOUGH  Mr.  Moody  was  now  engaged  in  State  Sunday- 
/-\  school  conventions  and  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
activities,  his  interest  was  still  strong  in  the  work  begun  in 
the  North  Market  Hall.  The  continuous  growth  of  the  school  there 
and  the  many  conversions  that  had  taken  place  from  the  first  were 
clear  proofs  of  its  success,  and  the  evening  gospel  services  during  the 
week  were  attended  with  very  encouraging  results.  In  time  the 
demand  for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  church  organization 
grew  urgent.  Mr.  Moody  hesitated  for  some  time  before  consider- 
ing such  a  step,  urging  the  new  converts  to  ally  themselves  with  the 
neighboring  churches.  He  was  always  averse  to  multiplying  agen- 
cies when  existing  organizations  needed  support,  and  preferred  there- 
fore to  devote  his  energies  to  evangelistic  work,  yielding  to  the 
denominational  churches  the  function  of  indoctrinating  the  Christian 
faith. 

But  it  was  in  this  effort  that  one  of  his  few  failures  must  be  recorded. 
The  allegiance  to  North  Market  Hall  on  the  part  of  the  converts  was 
stronger  than  Moody's  advice,  and  those  who  had  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  under  the  instruction  there  given  could  not  be  induced 
to  leave  the  school. 

It  was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  a  permanent  church  organization 

should  be  formed.     This  was  accomplished  in  1863,  and  a  year  later 

the  Illinois  Street  Church,  as  it  was  called,  was  settled  in  a  suitable 

place  of  worship.      The  church  building  itself  was  plain,  but  with 

-  7 


io8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ample  accommodations  for  the  congregation  and  Sunday-school,  the 
auditorium  having  a  seating  capacity  of  fifteen  hundred,  and  in  addi- 
tion there  were  several  class-rooms.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Harwood  was 
called  to  the  pastorate,  and  Mr.  Moody  was  one  of  the  deacons. 

The  church  became  the  centre  of  various  forms  of  Christian  activ- 
ity. It  was  open  every  evening  in  the  week,  and  gospel  services  were 
supplemented  by  regular  church  meetings,  while  special  gatherings 
for  mothers  and  young  women,  Bible  readings,  prayer  and  praise 
services,  missionary  rallies,  and  similar  services  were  of  regular 
occurrence.  In  the  homes  of  the  members  cottage  meetings  were 
also  gathered,  while  open-air  services  were  held  regularly  during  the 
summer.  Among  other  services  Mr.  Moody  had  children's  prayer- 
meetings.  "  Some  of  the  happiest  nights  I  ever  had  were  in  these 
children's  prayer-meetings,"  he  used  to  say.  "  Some  people  don't 
believe  in  early  conversion.  '  If  they  have  a  father  or  mother  they'll 
take  care  of  them,'  they  say.  Then  they  complain,  '  If  you  do  get 
a  hold  on  them  and  they  are  converted,  they  won't  hold  out.' 

"  Well,  that  is  not  my  experience.  Some  of  the  most  active  men 
that  I  had  to  help  me  in  Chicago  were  little  barefooted  boys  picked 
up  in  the  lanes  and  by-ways  whom  I  had  in  my  children's  meetings. 

"  I  was  once  sent  for  by  a  mother  who  was  on  her  death-bed ;  she 
had  been  married  twice;  her  second  husband  abused  her  son  terribly. 

' '  Now  I  am  dying  of  consumption,'  she  said;  '  I  have  been  sick  a 
long  time,  and  since  I  have  been  lying  here  I've  neglected  my  boy. 
He  has  got  into  bad  company,  and  he's  very,  very  unkind  to  me.  Mr. 
Moody,  I  want  you  to  promise  me  that  when  I  am  gone  and  he  has 
no  one  to  take  care  of  him  that  you'll  look  after  him.'  I  promised 
that  I  would.  Soon  after  she  died,  and  no  sooner  was  she  buried 
than  the  boy  ran  away.  The  next  Sunday  I  spoke  to  the  children  in 
my  Sabbath-school,  and  asked  them  to  look  for  him,  and  if  they 
found  him  to  let  me  know.  For  some  time  I  did  not  hear  from  him, 
but  one  day  one  of  my  scholars  told  me  that  he  was  a  bell-boy  in  a 
certain  hotel.  I  went  to  this  hotel,  found  him,  and  talked  with  him. 


Early  Evangelistic  Efforts  109 

"  How  well  I  remember  that  night !  There  was  no  place  where  we 
could  be  alone  in  the  hotel,  so  I  asked  him  where  we  could  go  and  not 
be  disturbed.  He  said  the  only  place  he  knew  of  was  on  the  hotel 
roof.  We  went  together  up  there,  and  I  spoke  to  him  about  Christ 
and  what  He  had  done  for  him,  and  how  He  loved  him.  The  tears 
trickled  down  his  cheeks;  and  when  I  asked  him  if  he  wanted  to  know 
Christ  he  told  me  he  did.  I  prayed  with  him  there,  and  he  became  a 
Christian.  Below  was  the  tumult  of  the  city.  It  was  the  night 
before  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  they  were  firing  off  cannon  and  sky- 
rockets, while  there  on  that  roof,  at  midnight,  this  boy  was  praying. 
Many  years  later  I  met  him  again;  he  is  now  an  active  Christian, 
superintendent  of  a  Sunday-school,  and  he  comes  to  Northfield  fre- 
quently in  the  summer.  He  has  held  on  and  he  is  leading  others." 

Mr.  Moody's  zeal  was  well  known  in  Chicago.  He  would  not  wait 
for  opportunities  to  be  made  for  seeking  to  bring  men  to  Christ,  but 
made  them  himself.  It  is  related  how,  on  one  occasion,  he  accosted  a 
young  man,  apparently  just  come  from  the  country,  with  his  frequent 
inquiry:  "Are  you  a  Christian?" 

"  It's  none  of  your  business,"  was  the  curt  reply. 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  was  the  reassurance. 

"  Then  you  must  be  D.  L.  Moody !  "  said  the  stranger. 

The  hostile  criticism  received  in  these  days  was  by  no  means  limited 
to  mere  scoffing ;  often  he  would  be  directly  criticised.  But  with  an 
ever-ready  tact  he  would  turn  the  thing  to  his  credit  with  a  splendid 
self-possession. 

On  one  such  occasion  Mr.  Moody  was  one  of  several  speakers  at  a 
convention.  A  minister  who  followed  him  took  occasion  in  his 
speech  to  criticise  him,  saying  that  his  address  was  made  up  of  news- 
paper clippings,  etc.  When  he  sat  down  Mr.  Moody  stepped  to  the 
front  again,  and  said  he  knew  it  was  so;  that  he  recognized  his  want  of 
learning  and  inability  to  make  a  fine  address;  he  thanked  the  minister 
for  pointing  out  his  shortcomings,  and  asked  his  critic  to  pray  that 
God  would  help  him  to  do  better. 


* 

1 10  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  Moody  was  subjected  to  a  great  deal  of 
annoyance  from  those  who  used  to  attend  the  open-air  services  and 
noon  prayer-meetings  with  the  express  purpose  of  making  a  dis- 
turbance. These  occurrences  continued  with  a  persistence  that  be- 
came almost  intolerable.  At  the  close  of  a  prayer-meeting  one  day 
Mr.  Moody  was  standing  at  the  door  shaking  hands  with  the  people 
as  they  went  out.  As  an  added  trial  to  Mr.  Moody's  patience  the 
irrepressible  disturber  himself  advanced,  extending  his  hand.  For 
an  instant  there  was  a  hesitation ;  then  accepting  the  proffered  hand, 
he  said : 

"  I  suppose  if  Jesus  Christ  could  eat  the  Last  Supper  with  a  Judas 
Iscariot  I  ought  to  shake  hands  with  you." 

There  were  times  when  his  old  quick  temper  broke  out  again,  but 
even  on  such  occasions  it  would  seem  that  the  momentary  weakness 
was  turned  to  good,  so  humbly  and  sincerely  did  he  repent.  One 
evening  after  an  unusually  earnest  evangelistic  appeal  Mr.  Moody 
was  standing  near  the  door  of  the  inquiry-room,  urging  the  people 
to  come  in.  The  entrance  to  the  room  was  by  the  lower  landing  of 
the  stairs,  and  Moody  was  just  at  the  head  of  a  short  flight.  While 
he  stood  there  a  man  approached  him  and  deliberately  and  grossly 
insulted  him.  Mr.  Moody  would  never  repeat  the  insult,  but  it  must 
have  been  an  unusually  bitter  one.  Instantly  he  thrust  the  man  from 
him,  and  sent  him  reeling  down  the  remaining  steps  to  the  vestibule. 
Happily  the  man  escaped  uninjured,  but  having  given  way  to 
a  sudden  temptation,  he  was  keenly  rebuked  by  his  conscience 
for  what  might  have  caused  a  serious  accident.  A  friend  who  was 
present  on  the  occasion  and  witnessed  the  scene  described  what  fol- 
lowed : 

"  When  I  saw  Mr.  Moody  give  way  to  his  temper,  although  I  could 
not  but  believe  the  provocation  was  extraordinary,  I  said  to  myself, 
'  This  meeting  is  killed.  The  large  number  who  have  seen  the  whole 
thing  will  hardly  be  in  a  condition  to  be  influenced  by  anything  more 
Mr.  Moody  may  say  to-night.'  But  before  Moody  began  the  second 


. 

Early  Evangelistic  Efforts  in 

meeting  that  night  he  arose,  and  with  trembling  voice  made  a  humble 
apology. 

"  '  Friends/  he  said,  '  before  beginning  to-night  I  want  to  confess 
that  I  yielded  just  now  to  my  temper,  out  in  the  hall,  and  have  done 
wrong.  Just  as  I  was  coming  in  here  to-night  I  lost  my  temper  with 
a  man,  and  I  want  to  confess  my  wrong  before  you  all,  and  if  that  man 
is  present  here  whom  I  thrust  away  from  me  in  anger  I  want  to  ask 
his  forgiveness  and  God's.  Let  us  pray/  There  was  not  a  word  of 
excuse  or  vindication  for  resenting  the  insult.  The  impression  made 
by  his  words  was  wonderful,  and  instead  of  the  meeting  being  killed 
by  the  scene  it  was  greatly  blessed  by  such  a  consistent  and  straight- 
forward confession." 

Mr.  Moody  never  lost  an  opportunity  for  reaching  those  whom 
others  could  not  reach,  and  many  an  incident  is  related  of  his  thus 
invading  the  enemy's  country.  Once  he  was  invited,  as  a  joke,  to  the 
opening  of  a  great  billiard  hall  and  saloon.  He  saw  the  owners,  and 
asked  permission  to  bring  a  friend.  They  consented,  but  asked  who 
he  was.  Mr.  Moody  said  it  wasn't  necessary  to  tell,  but  he  never  went 
without  Him.  They  understood  his  meaning  then,  and  protested : 

"  Come,  we  don't  want  any  praying !  " 

"  You've  given  me  an  invitation,  and  I'm  going  to  come,"  he 
replied. 

"  But  if  you  come  you  needn't  pray." 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  was  the  answer ;  "  we'll  com- 
promise the  matter,  and  if  you  don't  want  me  to  come  and  pray  for 
you  when  you  open,  let  me  pray  for  you  both  now,"  to  which  they 
agreed.  Mr.  Moody  made  them  kneel  down  on  the  instant,  and  then 
prayed  that  their  business  might  go  to  pieces,  but  that  God  would 
save  them ! 

"  The  first  thing  Mr.  Moody  does  with  those  whom  he  succeeds  in 
bringing  under  Christian  influence  is  to  turn  them  to  account  in  push- 
ing on  the  work,"  writes  the  Rev.  David  Macrae,  a  Scotch  clergyman, 
in  his  account  of  a  visit  to  Mr.  Moody's  Sunday-school  in  the  early 


!  1 2  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

sixties.  "  No  place  is  too  bad,  no  class  too  hardened,  to  be  despaired 
of.  He  sometimes  takes  a  choir  of  well-trained  children  with  him 
to  the  low  drink-saloons  to  help  him  attract  the  drunkards  and 
gamblers  to  his  meetings.  On  one  such  occasion  which  was  described 
to  me,  he  entered  one  of  these  dens  with  his  choir,  and  said :  '  Have 
a  song,  gentlemen?'  No  objection  was  offered,  and  the  children 
sang  a  patriotic  song  in  fine  style,  exciting  great  applause.  Mr. 
Moody  then  started  them  with  a  hymn,  and  went  around,  while 
they  sang,  distributing  tracts.  When  the  hymn  was  over  he  said: 
'  We  will  now  have  a  word  of  prayer.' 

'  *  No,  no ! '  cried  several  in  alarm, '  no  prayer  here ! ' 

' '  Oh,  yes,  we'll  have  a  word.  Quiet  for  a  moment,  gentlemen,' 
and  he  offered  up  an  earnest  petition.  Some  of  the  men  were 
touched,  and  when  he  invited  them  to  go  to  his  meeting  and  hear 
more,  about  half  of  them  got  up  and  went." 

It  often  required  a  great  deal  of  tact  to  adapt  a  young  convert  to 
work  best  suited  to  his  abilities,  but  to  this  Mr.  Moody  proved  himself 
equal. 

"  Every  man  can  do  something,"  he  said.  "  There  was  a  Swede 
converted  once  in  our  mission  in  Chicago.  I  don't  know  how.  I 
don't  suppose  he  was  converted  by  my  sermons,  because  he  couldn't 
understand  much  English.  But  the  Lord  converted  him  into  one  of 
the  happiest  men  you  ever  saw.  His  face  shone  all  over.  He  came 
to  me,  and  he  had  to  speak  through  an  interpreter.  This  interpreter 
said  that  the  Swede  wanted  to  have  me  give  him  something  to  do. 
I  said  to  myself :  What  in  the  world  will  I  set  this  man  to  doing  ?  He 
can't  speak  English ! 

"  So  I  gave  him  a  bundle  of  little  hand-bills,  and  put  him  out  on 
the  corner  of  the  greatest  thoroughfare  of  Chicago,  and  let  him  give 
them  out,  inviting  people  to  come  up  and  hear  me  preach.  A  man 
would  come  along  and  take  one  and  see  '  Gospel  Meeting,'  and  then 
turn  around,  perhaps,  and  curse  the  fellow.  But  the  Swede  would 
laugh,  because  he  didn't  know  that  he  wasn't  blessing  him!  He 


Early  Evangelistic  Efforts  n^ 

couldn't  tell  the  difference.  A  great  many  men  were  impressed  by 
that  man  being  so  polite  and  kind.  When  winter  came  and  the 
nights  got  so  dark  they  couldn't  read  those  little  hand-bills,  he  got  a 
little  transparency  and  put  it  up  on  the  corner,  and  there  took  his 
stand,  hot  or  cold,  rain  or  shine.  Many  a  man  was  won  by  his  efforts." 

The  following  extract  from  an  address  given  at  this  time  on  "  How 
to  Reach  the  Poor  "  illustrates  his  keen  judgment  in  dealing  with  men 
at  this  early  date : 

"  We  don't  make  our  services  interesting  enough  to  get  uncon- 
verted people  to  come.  We  don't  expect  them  to  come — we'd  be 
surprised  enough  if  they  did.  To  make  them  interesting  and  profit- 
able, ask  the  question,  How  can  this  be  done?  You  must  wake  the 
people  up.  If  you  can't  talk,  read  a  verse  of  Scripture,  and  let  God 
speak.  Bring  up  the  question,  What  more  can  we  do  in  our  district? 
Get  those  who  never  do  anything  to  say  what  they  think  ought  to  be 
done,  and  then  ask  them  if  they  are  doing  it.  Don't  get  in  a  rut.  I 
abominate  ruts.  Perhaps  I  dread  them  too  much,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing I  fear  more." 

D.  W.  McWilliams,  a  life-long  and  intimate  friend,  writing  of  his 
first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Moody  at  this  time,  says : 

"  It  is  conceded  by  all  who  knew  him  that  one  of  the  qualities  which 
made  him  so  useful  and  successful  was  his  openmindedness  in  observ- 
ing surrounding  circumstances ;  coupled  with  this,  and  largely  devel- 
oped in  him,  was  his  willingness  to  receive  suggestions  and  alertness 
in  adopting  them  where  the  work  of  blessing  others  would  be 
promoted. 

"  It  was  at  the  house  of  a  friend  in  Peoria,  111.,  in  1861,  that  I  first 
met  Mr.  Moody.  Our  host  had  invited  several  ministers  and  two 
laymen  to  meet  him  at  dinner.  When  they  arrived  Mr.  Moody  was 
not  with  the  others,  but  inquiry  led  to  the  information  that  he  had 
come  early  and  was  upstairs  in  a  room  at  prayer  with  an  unconverted 
friend  of  the  host,  who  had  been  induced  to  call  upon  Mr.  Moody  for 
this  special  purpose. 


1 14  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  On  being  introduced  to  those  present  Mr.  Moody  soon  turned 
to  one  of  the  ministers  and  said, '  How  do  you  explain  this  verse  in  the 
Bible  ? '  giving  the  verse  in  full.  Soon  after  he  turned  to  another 
minister,  quoted  a  verse,  and  asked,  '  What  does  that  mean  ?  '  The 
entire  conversation  that  day  was  exposition  of  Scripture  in  reply  to 
Mr.  Moody's  rapid  questions,  and  a  stirring  of  hearts  in  the  direction 
of  personal  work  for  the  salvation  of  others.  The  impression  made 
upon  the  guests  that  day  was  of  Mr.  Moody's  love  for  the  souls  of 
others  and  his  intense  desire  for  Bible  knowledge. 

"  Soon  afterward  I  called  upon  Mr.  Moody  in  Chicago,  and  was 
conducted  through  his  parish.  We  went  to  what  would  now  be  called 
the  '  slums.'  Soon  a  crowd  of  street  gamins,  boys  and  girls  of  all 
ages,  were  following  us  with  loud  shouts  of  '  Oh,  here's  Moody ! 
Come,  here's  Moody ! '  Evidently  they  all  knew  him  as  their  best 
friend.  He  had  candy  in  both  side  pockets,  and  gave  it  freely.  We 
visited  house  after  house  of  the  poor,  sick,  and  unfortunate.  He  was 
everywhere  greeted  with  affection,  and  carried  real  sunshine  into 
these  abodes  of  squalor.  He  inquired  for  the  absent  ones  by  name." 


CHAPTER    XI 
CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  WORK 

"  T    BELIEVE  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  with  all 

my  heart.     Under  God  it  has  done  more  in  developing  me 

for  Christian  work  than  any  other  agency."     This  was  Mr. 

Moody's  testimony  to  the  influence  of  the  organization  for  which  he 

gained  so  many  friends  and  supporters. 

From  the  time  he  gave  up  business  to  devote  himself  to  Christian 
work  Mr.  Moody  was  very  enthusiastic  in  the  work  of  the  Chicago 
Association.  This  interest  was  greatly  strengthened  by  his  experi- 
ences in  the  Christian  Commission  work  and  the  Association  formed 
at  that  time.  As  secretary  and  for  several  years  as  president  he 
worked  earnestly  to  build  up  the  organization  in  every  department, 
but  more  especially  did  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  work  appeal  to  him. 

The  daily  noon  prayer-meeting  had  been  one  of  the  permanent 
results  of  the  great  revival,  and  to  this  meeting  he  gave  his  heartiest 
support.  Young  as  he  was,  it  was  not  long  before  he  became  the 
leader  of  the  meeting,  and  side  by  side  with  his  mission  work  he  car- 
ried the  steady  extension  of  the  Christian  Association. 

Under  his  leadership  the  Association  prospered  greatly  and  soon 
demanded  larger  accommodations.  The  board  of  managers  thought, 
planned,  and  prayed  for  a  building  of  their  own,  but  with  little  or  no 
practical  result.  Finally  it  was  proposed  that  Mr.  Moody,  who  had 
recently  been  successful  in  erecting  the  Illinois  Street  Church,  should 
be  elected  president,  with  John  V.  Farwell  for  vice-president.  Mr. 
Moody  was  considered  too  radical  to  head  the  ticket,  however,  so  the 


n6  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

names  were  reversed.  While  the  election  was  in  progress  Mr.  Moody 
was  out  getting  pledges,  and  before  night  a  building  was  assured  that 
should  contain  a  hall  with  a  seating  capacity  for  three  thousand  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  rooms  for  smaller  meetings  and  offices.  Feeling,  as 
he  always  did,  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  he  had  asked  B.  F.  Jacobs  and 
J.  W.  Dean  to  unite  with  him  in  petition  that  the  way  might  be 
opened  for  such  a  building.  Then  with  characteristic  foresight,  be- 
lieving that  his  prayer  would  be  answered,  he  got  a  charter  from  the 
State,  exempting  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association's  real  estate 
from  taxation. 

A  stock  company  was  then  formed,  and  on  looking  for  a  location 
a  site  originally  secured  for  the  city  water-works  office  and  tower 
was  decided  upon  as  the  most  appropriate  in  size  and  location.  The 
city  had  grown  so  rapidly  that  the  lot  was  entirely  inadequate  for  the 
proposed  water-works,  and  the  property  now  belonged  to  Mr. 
Farwell.  At.  Mr.  Moody's  solicitation,  it  was  donated  to  the  work 
for  young  men,  being  the  equivalent  of  a  contribution  of  $40,000. 
The  first  cash  subscription  of  $10,000  was  then  secured  from  Cyrus 
H.  McCormick,  and  others  generously  aided  in  the  work,  until  a 
sufficient  sum  was  secured  for  "  the  first  hall  ever  erected  in  America 
for  Christian  Association  work,"  which  distinction  it  claimed.  At 
the  dedication  of  the  building,  September  29,  1867,  a  large  audience 
taxed  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  hall,  many  visitors  coming  from  dis- 
tant cities.  The  interdenominational  character  of  the  Association 
was  proved  by  the  presence  of  ministers  of  all  denominations,  and 
this  at  a  time  when  the  work  was  only  beginning,  and  jealous  eyes 
were  watching  lest  it  should  prove  a  rival  of  the  churches. 

In  his  speech  on  this  occasion  Mr.  Moody  recounted  the  blessings 
the  Association  had  received  and  how  God  had  led  them  from  small 
beginnings  to  their  present  position  of  influence.  He  made  a  char- 
acteristic plea  for  an  aggressive  attack  upon  the  strongholds  of  sin, 
saying  Christians  had  been  on  the  defensive  too  long.  He  confessed 
his  belief  that  by  the  Lord's  blessing  a  religious  influence  was  to  go 


Christian  Association  Work  117 

out  from  this  Association  that  "  should  extend  to  every  county  in  the 
State,  to  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  finally  crossing  the  waters, 
should  help  to  bring  the  whole  world  to  God." 

It  had  been  planned  by  some  of  the  subscribers  to  the  Association 
building  fund  that  it  should  be  named  after  Mr.  Moody,  as  it  owed 
its  existence  to  his  vigorous  efforts.  As  soon  as  he  learned  of  this  Mr. 
Moody  took  the  platform,  and  in  a  short  and  vigorous  appeal  asked 
the  audience  to  name  it  Farwell  Hall,  in  honor  of  the  man  who  was 
chairman  of  the  building  committee  and  had  been  so  liberal  a  giver. 
The  proposal  was  carried  by  acclamation,  although  Mr.  Farwell 
modestly  insisted  afterward  that  "  the  audience  acceded  to  the  only 
mistake  Mr.  Moody  ever  made  in  connection  with  this  enterprise." 

Within  four  months  after  its  dedication  Farwell  Hall  burned  down, 
entailing  great  loss,  as  it  was  .only  partly  insured.  Mr.  Moody  took 
matters  in  his  own  hands  again,  and  so  promptly  that  it  is  said  he  had 
secured  subscriptions  for  the  new  hall  before  the  old  one  ceased 
burning.  While  the  ruins  were  still  smouldering  he  received  a  tele- 
gram from  J.  D.  Blake,  of  Rochester,  Minn.,  an  early  friend  of  the 
general  Association  work,  offering  to  take  $500  worth  of  stock  in  the 
new  building. 

"  When  the  costly  hall  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
took  fire  in  1867,"  wrote  the  Rev.  Mr.  Macrae,  "  the  secretary  and 
other  officials,  as  soon  as  they  found  the  building  was  doomed,  ran 
about  among  the  merchants  in  the  city  for  subscriptions.  '  Our  hall 
is  burning,  sir;  the  engines  are  at  work,  but  there  is  no  hope.  We  shall 
want  a  new  one.  Let  us  have  money  enough  to  begin  at  once ! ' 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  dollars  were  subscribed  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  and  it  is  said  that  before  the  fire  was  out  money 
enough  had  been  raised  to  build  a  new  hall  in  a  style  of  even  greater 
magnificence  than  the  first.  This  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  lightning 
Christianity  of  Chicago. 

"  The  man  who  may  be  called  par  excellence  the  lightning  Chris- 
tian of  the  city  is  Mr.  Moody,  the  secretary  of  the  Association  referred 


u8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

to,  and  a  man  whose  name  is  a  household  word  in  connection  with 
missionary  work.  I  went  to  one  of  his  mission  schools,  and  have 
rarely  beheld  such  a  scene  of  high-pressure  evangelization.  It  made 
me  think  irresistibly  of  those  breathing  steamboats  on  the  Mississippi 
that  must  either  go  fast  or  burst.  Mr.  Moody  himself  went  about 
the  school  seeing  that  everybody  was  at  work ;  throwing  in  a  word 
where  he  thought  it  necessary;  inspiring  every  one  with  his  own 
enthusiasm." 

The  second  Farwell  Hall  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  This  building  was  superior  in  many  respects  to  the  first 
one,  but  suffered  the  fate  of  its  predecessor.  The  new  hall  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  great  Chicago  fire  of  1871. 

The  third  Farwell  Hall  was  erected  while  Mr.  Moody  was  in  Eng- 
land in  1872-75.  But  in  this  also  he  had  a  share  in  raising  money 
to  pay  for  its  erection.  After  the  close  of  his  mission  in  Chicago  in 
1877  he  secured  the  balance  of  the  money  necessary  to  clear  the  Asso- 
ciation building  from  debt.  This  third  building  was  demolished  to 
give  place  to  the  present  Farwell  Hall,  which  exceeds  in  value  any 
Association  building  now  in  existence. 

Richard  Morse  writes  of  Mr.  Moody's  ability  in  the  way  of  securing 
subscriptions : 

"  In  every  city  in  which  he  worked,  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  his 
work  and  words  summoned  to  the  Association  a  group  of  conse- 
crated laymen,  and  with  them  financial  resources  which  everywhere 
promoted  the  extension  and  usefulness  of  our  work  for  young  men. 

"  In  almost  every  city  his  effort  was  always  not  only  to  promote  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  Association,  but  also  to  procure  for  it  better 
accommodation  and  appliances  and  in  many  instances  a  building. 

"  I  remember  vividly  my  visit  to  England  late  in  the  summer  of 
1875,  just  after  Mr.  Moody  had  closed  his  most  remarkable  evan- 
gelistic tour  in  the  United  Kingdom.  I  visited  many  cities,  and  was 
invariably  entertained  with  cordial  hospitality,  and  I  felt  that  this  was 
due  not  so  much  to  my  being  the  secretary  of  the  International  Com- 


Christian  Association  Work  119 

mittee,  as  to  my  being  the  friend,  and  to  some  extent  the  associate, 
of  Mr.  Moody.  I  found  in  every  city  a  group  of  influential  laymen 
who  had  recently  become  connected  with  the  Association  owing  to 
Mr.  Moody's  work,  and  who  were  giving  it  leadership  and  financial 
resources  which  greatly  increased  in  every  instance  the  beneficent 
reach  and  influence  of  the  organization.  It  was  the  spiritual  life 
and  at  the  same  time  the  leadership  of  the  laymen  which  he  con- 
tributed in  such  great  measure  to  the  Association  movement;  the 
actual  money  raised,  in  connection  with  or  as  a  result  of  his  meetings, 
was  simply  one  of  the  signs  of  this. 

"  No  list  of  the  amounts  raised  in  the  various  cities  can  show  a 
total  amount  which  represents  to  any  degree  the  financial  help  that 
came  to  the  Association  through  his  agency. 

"  In  regard  to  the  amount  raised  in  New  York  as  a  result  of  his 
meetings  here  in  1876  I  would  say  that  at  that  time  there  was  a 
mortgage  of  $150,000  upon  the  Association  building,  corner  of 
Twenty-third  Street  and  Fourth  Avenue,  against  which  there  was  a 
pledge  of  $50,000  from  a  friend  of  the  Association,  which  he  had 
deposited  in  its  safe,  to  be  paid  whenever  the  balance  of  the  mortgage 
had  been  subscribed.  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  in  the 
Hippodrome  (now  the  Madison  Square  Garden)  it  was  proposed  to 
raise  $200,000,  including  the  pledge  above  referred  to;  $150,000  to 
be  devoted  to  paying  off  the  mortgage  and  $50,000  to  the  work  of 
the  Bowery  Branch  of  the  Association.  This  money  was  happily 
secured  as  the  result  of  these  meetings." 

These  facts  speak  for  themselves.  But  any  simple  narration  of 
them  would  be  incomplete  without  some  slight  comment  on  this 
remarkable  power  that  influenced  not  only  men's  hearts,  but  their 
pockets— perhaps  a  harder  task.  He  begged  for  men's  money  as 
simply  and  directly  as  he  begged  for  their  conversion ;  he  trusted  im- 
plicitly that  God  would  grant  him  both;  and  he  was  rarely  disappointed 
in  either.  The  poor  offered  him  small  sums;  the  rich  gave  with  a 
magnificent  liberality :  he  accepted  both  as  his  Master's  due. 


120 


The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 


In  his  Association  work  at  this  time  Mr.  Moody  seems  to  have 
developed  the  peculiar  gift  of  discerning  the  special  abilities  of  others. 
In  the  noon-day  prayer-meetings  he  was  on  the  watch  to  discover  a 
new  worker  or  to  call  upon  strangers  to  take  part.  Mr.  A.  J.  Bell,  an 
evangelist  of  San  Jose,  Cal.,  describes  the  following  experience  with 
Mr.  Moody  at  one  of  the  meetings : 

"  One  day  the  leader  assigned  did  not  get  there  in  time,  and  Mr. 
Moody  came  to  me,  requesting  that  I  take  charge.  I  had  just  arrived 
from  a  journey,  hot  and  dusty.  '  Mr.  Moody,'  I  said,  '  I  am  just  in 
from  a  long  absence  and  am  not  presentable.  Excuse  me,  please, 
and  at  some  other  time  I  will  lead  the  meeting.' 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  incident,  for  it  was  the  turning  point  in 
my  life.  '  I  thought  you  were  a  Christian  soldier,'  he  said,  and  added, 
'  Go  forward  and  we  will  pray  for  you.'  As  soon  as  the  meeting  was 
over  he  came  again  and  thanked  me.  '  You  did  well,'  he  said.  '  But 
it  is  all  wrong,  this  holding  back !  Your  duty  is  clear;  keep  in  front. 
Be  a  minute  man.' 

"  In  twenty-five  years  I  have  not  forgotten  that  expression,  and 
since  then  I  have  been  at  the  front  in  evangelistic  work.  Had  Mr. 
Moody  not  pressed  me  into  service  then,  the  probabilities  are  that  I 
would  have  never  entered  the  field." 

In  1867  a  great  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  convention 
was  held  in  Pittsburg,  which  was  accompanied  by  a  wide-spread 
religious  awakening.  Here  again  Mr.  Moody's  presence  was  felt. 
"  With  his  characteristic  energy,  wonderful  foresight,  and  practical 
good  in  securing  results,"  says  Oliver  McClintock,  who  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Association  just  organized  at  that  time,  "  Mr.  Moody 
called  a  meeting  of  the  leading  women  who  had  been  impressed  by 
the  addresses  and  events  of  the  convention,  and  organized  them  into 
a  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  which  grew  into  a  strong 
and  efficient  organization.  Several  large  and  benevolent  institutions 
now  having  valuable  properties  grew  out  of  this  movement." 

The  Rev.  James  S.  Chadwick  became  city  missionary  of  the  Metho- 


Christian  Association  Work  lit 

dist  Episcopal  Church  in  Chicago  in  1861.  His  office  was  in  the 
building  in  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  had  rooms 
before  the  erection  of  Farwell  Hall.  With  reference  to  Mr.  Moody's 
labors  in  behalf  of  the  suffering  and  needy,  he  says : 

"  I  have  known  him  to  start  from  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation with  baskets  of  provisions  for  poor  families,  many  of  whom 
would  have  been  neglected  or  overlooked  but  for  his  timely  interest. 
He  always  urged  those  whom  he  thus  relieved  to  attend  church  and 
become  Christians.  In  many  instances  whole  families  were  thus 
brought  to  know  and  serve  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  noon-day 
prayer-meetings  men  have  arisen  and  told  how  Mr.  Moody  visited 
their  homes  with  substantial  relief  for  hungry  children,  and  then 
joined  in  prayer  for  all  the  family. 

"  Mr.  Moody  would  regularly  station  himself  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  rooms,  just  before  the  hour  of 
noon,  and  distribute  to  passers-by  invitations  to  go  upstairs  to  the 
noon-day  prayer-meeting.  Christians  and  persons  who  were  not 
Christians  were  frequently  prevailed  upon  to  spend  a  few  minutes 
in  the  helpful  and  inspiring  prayer-service.  Many  conversions  re- 
sulted from  these  invitations." 

Direct  evangelistic  preaching  was  a  prominent  feature  of  these 
early  years  of  Association  work.  The  most  aggressive  phase  of  it 
was  no  doubt  the  "  open-air  "  talks.  During  the  summer  months 
Mr.  Moody  could  be  seen  every  night,  if  the  weather  permitted,  in 
what  was  known  as  the  Court  House  Square.  The  steps  of  the  build- 
ing became  his  pulpit,  a  half-dozen  young  men  and  women  his  choir, 
the  passing  throng,  or  as  many  as  could  be  arrested  by  the  exercises, 
his  audience.  A  position  was  usually  taken  where  the  prisoners  in 
the  long  corridors  could  hear  what  was  going  on,  and  these,  crowd- 
ing to  the  grated  windows,  became  an  important  part  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

To  one  of  less  determination  such  efforts  at  evangelizing  would 
have  been  discouraging.  Opposition  in  one  form  or  another  was 


122  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

frequent.  A  certain  "  free-thinker  "  appeared  regularly  for  months, 
often  interrupting — always  trying  to  hold  the  crowd  after  Mr.  Moody 
had  closed,  and  later  following  the  company  that  had  gone  with  Mr. 
Moody  and  his  assistants  to  the  service  that  was  held  regularly  in  the 
smaller  Association  hall.  Occasionally  some  half-intoxicated  stroller 
would  try  to  put  an  end  to  the  open-air  service.  One  evening  a  large 
earthen  jar  was  thrown  from  an  upper  window  of  the  court-house" 
and,  falling  within  a  couple  of  feet  of  the  speaker,  was  broken  into 
fragments. 

Mr.  Moody  was  a  true  friend  of  prisoners,  frequently  visiting  the 
common  jail,  and  also  what  was  known  in  Chicago  as  the  "  Bride- 
well," talking,  reading,  and  praying  with  the  inmates. 

Experiences  gathered  in  such  work — the  necessity  for  ready  action 
in  emergencies;  the  strength  acquired  in  stemming  opposition;  the 
growth  of  character  in  standing  unflinchingly  for  conviction  and 
duty — all  these  made  for  larger  equipment  in  wider  spheres  of  action. 
It  was  but  a  repeated  demonstration  of  the  Master's  principle  of 
reward.  "  Thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee 
ruler  over  many  things." 

At  a  convention  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt,  in  1870,  whenever  he  rose 
to  speak  he  first  read  a  verse  from  the  Bible.  A  man  who  followed 
him  said  to  Mr.  Moody :  "  I'm  glad  you  keep  to  your  chart." 

"  There  is  nothing  else  to  keep  to,"  he  replied;  "  if  that  goes  every- 
thing goes." 


Ff 


t>      .          //y/^^. 
^  /'       fyy  Covering  ') 


%r  I 

V*    ! 

Y 

< . 

'4i 


¥ 

M% 


nps»  'becomcth   thine   hoiwe,   O   LOJUJ", 

PSALM  XCIT. 

L*   LORD  >!Ood.  to  wk-an*  Tcnjtmnre 
„<?   Go^  *?.  whom  v, 


. 

*or,n»/).  2  iait   up  thyself,   thou  jtidjre  of  the 

d  j  r  Jo»  30.  5,    i  earth :  render  a  Toward  to  the    roti'l. 


«  Vr.  3.  2. 

22.  i. 

P».  02.  R. 

Bo.  3.  11. 


A  PAGE  FROM  MR.  MOODY'S  BIBLE. 


IRA  D.  SANKEY. 


CHAPTER    XII 
YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  CONVENTIONS 

DURING  his  leadership  of  the  Chicago  Association  from  1865 
to  1871  Mr.  Moody's  influence  was  felt  not  only  in  Chicago, 
but  in  the  International  and  State  conventions.     He  was 
present  at  the  International  Conventions  in  Albany,  1868;  Baltimore, 
1869,  and  Indianapolis,  1870. 

It  was  at  the  Indianapolis  convention  that  Mr.  Moody  first  met 
Mr.  Sankey,  who  was  a  delegate  from  his  native  town  of  Newcastle, 
Penn.  The  reputation  of  the  Chicagoan  had  already  aroused  Mr. 
Sankey's  interest,  but  as  both  were  seated  upon  the  floor  of  the  hall 
among  delegates  his  curiosity  could  not  be  gratified  during  the  first 
few  days.  At  the  close  of  the  convention  it  was  announced  that  Mr. 
Moody  would  lead  an  early  morning  prayer-meeting  at  six  o'clock  the 
next  day  in  a  neighboring  church.  This  afforded  the  opportunity 
Mr.  Sankey  had  looked  for,  and  he  came  with  a  friend. 

There  was  some  difficulty  in  starting  the  singing  until  Mr.  Sankey's 
friend  urged  him  to  begin  a  hymn.  He  began  to  sing,  "  There  is  a 
fountain  filled  with  blood,"  in  which  all  the  congregation  joined.  At 
the  close  of  the  service  Mr.  Sankey  was  introduced  by  his  friend,  and 
was  immediately  recognized  by  Moody  as  the  leader  of  the  singing. 

A  few  inquiries  regarding  Mr.  Sankey's  family  ties  and  occupation 
followed;  then  the  evangelist  announced  in  his  determined  fashion, 
"  Well,  you'll  have  to  give  that  up !  You  are  the  man  I  have  been 
looking  for,  and  I  want  you  to  come  to  Chicago  and  help  me  in  my 
work," 

9 


126  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Mr.  Sankey  was  somewhat  surprised  at  this  sudden  suggestion, 
and  assured  Mr.  Moody  that  he  could  not  leave  his  business,  but 
accepted  an  invitation  to  lunch  with  him  that  day  and  learn  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  the  work  proposed.  Nothing  definite  resulted 
from  this  conference,  although  Mr.  Sankey  promised  to  give  the 
matter  his  prayerful  consideration. 

Later  in  the  day  a  card  was  handed  him  asking  him  to  meet  Mr. 
Moody  that  evening  at  a  certain  street  corner  to  assist  in  an  open-air 
service.  To  this  Mr.  Sankey  responded  by  writing  on  the  back  of 
the  card,  "  I'll  be  there."  In  company  with  a  few  friends  Mr.  Sankey 
met  Mr.  Moody  at  the  appointed  place,  and  thus  describes  the 
informal  service  that  followed : 

"  Without  stopping,  Mr.  Moody  walked  into  a  store  on  the  corner 
and  asked  permission  to  use  a  large  empty  box  which  he  saw  outside 
the  door.  This  he  rolled  to  the  side  of  the  street,  and  taking  his 
stand  upon  it,  asked  me  to  sing  the  hymn,  '  Am  I  a  soldier  of  the 
Cross  ? ' 

"  After  one  or  two  hymns  Mr.  Moody  began  his  address.  Many 
workingmen  were  just  then  on  their  way  home  from  the  mills,  and  in 
a  short  time  a  large  crowd  had  gathered.  The  address  that  evening 
was  one  of  the  most  powerful  I  had  ever  heard.  The  crowd  stood 
spellbound  at  the  burning  words,  and  many  a  tear  was  brushed  away 
from  the  eyes  of  the  men  as  they  looked  up  into  the  speaker's  honest 
face.  After  talking  about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  he  closed  with  a 
short  prayer  and  announced  that  he  was  going  to  hold  another  meet- 
ing at  the  Academy  of  Music,  inviting  the  crowd  to  follow  him  there. 
We  sang  the  well-known  hymn, '  Shall  we  gather  at  the  river?  '  as  we 
marched  down  the  street. 

"  It  took  but  a  few  minutes  to  pack  the  lower  floor  of  the  Academy, 
Mr.  Moody  seeing  to  it  that  the  laboring  men  were  all  seated  before 
he  ascended  the  platform  to  speak. 

"  The  address  was  as  impressive  as  the  one  delivered  on  the  street 
corner,  and  it  was  not  until  the  delegates  began  to  arrive  for  the  even- 


Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Conventions         127 

ing  session  of  the  convention  that  the  meeting  was'brought  to  a  close. 
Mr.  Moody  cut  short  his  sermon,  and  after  a  word  of  prayer  dis- 
missed the  audience,  telling  them  that  they  could  now  go  home  and 
get  something  to  eat." 

Mr.  Sankey  was  greatly  impressed  by  these  two  meetings,  and,  after 
the  convention,  went  back  to  Newcastle  and  told  his  family  of  his 
invitation  to  Chicago.  Some  months  later  he  yielded  to  Mr.  Moody's 
invitation  to  come  for  at  least  a  week,  and  then  to  decide  the  question. 
He  arrived  in  the  city  early  one  morning,  reaching  Mr.  Moody's 
home  just  as  the  family  were  gathering  for  morning  prayers.  He  was 
at  once  asked  to  sit  down  at  the  organ  and  lead  them  in  a  hymn,  which 
he  did. 

They  spent  their  first  day  together  visiting  the  sick  who  were 
members  of  Mr.  Moody's  congregation.  Mr.  Sankey  sang  and  Mr. 
Moody  read  -words  of  comfort  from  the  Word  of  God  and  offered 
prayer  for  the  healing  of  both  body  and  soul. 

The  following  Sunday  a  large  meeting  was  held  in  Farwell  Hall. 
At  the  close  of  the  service  a  number  of  persons  arose  for  prayer,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  "  inquiry  meeting  "  Mr.  Moody  turned  to  the 
singer  and  said,  "  You  are  going  home  to-morrow,  but  you  see  I  was 
right  in  asking  you  to  come  and  help  me  in  this  work,  and  I  hope  you 
will  make  up  your  mind  to  come  as  soon  as  possible." 

This  wish  was  granted,  for  Mr.  Sankey  soon  resigned  his  business, 
went  to  Chicago,  and  joined  Mr.  Moody  in  his  work  in  the  Illinois 
Street  Church  and  also  in  that  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation. 

In  1 879,  at  the  International  Convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  held  in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Moody  was  enthusiastically 
elected  president.  At  this  time  he  answered  several  important  ques- 
tions in  his  characteristic  way.  One  of  these  was  with  reference  to 
the  work  of  the  general  secretary,  to  which  he  replied : 

"  A  man  cannot  be  an  evangelist  and  general  secretary  without 
spoiling  his  work  in  both  positions,  The  secretary,  in  order  to  sue- 


I28  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ceed,  must  take  up  the  work  for  young  men  and  decide  to  do  this  one 
thing.  On  this  account  I  gave  up  the  secretaryship  to  become  an 
evangelist.  You  cannot  do  both/' 

When  asked  if  it  were  advisable  to  appoint  unconverted  men  on 
committees,  and  if  so  under  what  circumstances,  he  said,  "  Well,  if 
you  want  to  carry  a  corpse,  put  them  on.  A  man  that  is  dead  has  to 
be  carried.  I  think  one  man  with  Christ  in  his  soul  is  worth  a  thou- 
sand of  those  without  Christ." 

When  any  one  went  to  him  while  he  was  secretary  in  Chicago,  and 
bored  him  with  some  hobby  to  be  worked  out  in  the  Association,  he 
would  say — if  it  was  good  in  itself — "  Yes,  that  is  a  good  thing  to  do. 
I  will  appoint  you  chairman  of  a  special  committee  to  work  that  out. 
You  fill  up  the  committee  with  several  others,  and  go  to  work." 

His  attitude  on  "  social  problems  "  was  determined  by  experience 
with  men.  He  had  little  sympathy  with  efforts  toward  amelioration 
which  stopped  at  giving  food.  At  the  same  time  he  had  no  patience 
with  those  who  tried  to  stir  up  strife  between  the  classes.  When 
asked  what  he  would  do  for  the  unemployed  or  what  advice  he  would 
give  them,  he  said: 

"  First  of  all,  to  seek  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness, 
believing  His  promise,  which  I  never  knew  to  fail,  that  all  things  will 
be  added  to  them.  Second,  to  pray  to  God  for  work.  Third,  to  be 
patient  as  possible  during  these  times  of  hardship.  Fourth,  to  look 
earnestly  for  work.  Fifth,  to  take  any  honest  employment  that  offers 
itself.  Sixth,  to  study  economy.  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  needs 
of  our  country  is  that  the  laboring  men  should  own  their  own  homes." 

"  We  used  to  have  men  coming  in  all  the  time,"  he  would  say,  "  ask- 
ing for  work,  when  I  was  secretary  in  Chicago.  They  would  tell  me 
of  their  sufferings,  and  how  they  had  no  work  and  wanted  help.  At 
last  I  got  a  number  of  cords  of  firewood  and  put  it  in  a  vacant  lot,  and 
got  some  saws  and  sawbucks,  but  kept  them  out  of  sight.  A  man 
would  come  and  ask  for  help. 

"  '  Why  don't  you  work  ?  '  I  would  ask. 


Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Conventions         129 

"  '  I  can't  get  any  work.' 

"  '  Would  you  do  anything  if  you  could  get  any?  ' 

"  '  Oh,  yes,  anything.' 

"  '  Would  you  really  work  in  the  street  ?  ' 

"  '  Yes.' 

"  '  Would  you  saw  wood  ?  ' 

" '  Yes.' 

' '  All  right.'  And  then  we  would  bring  out  a  saw  and  sawbuck 
and  send  them  out,  but  we  would  have  a  boy  watch  to  see  that  they 
did  not  steal  the  saw.  Sometimes  the  fellow  would  say,  '  I  will  go 
home  and  tell  my  wife  I  have  got  some  work  ' ;  and  that  would  be  the 
last  we  would  see  of  him.  During  the  whole  winter  I  never  got  more 
than  three  or  four  cords  of  wood  sawed." 

He  formed  friendships  in  the  Association  work  which  continued 
through  life  and  were  of  great  assistance  to  him  in  his  evangelistic 
as  well  as  his  educational  work.  Gen.  J.  J.  Estey,  of  Brattleboro,  be- 
came acquainted  with  Mr.  Moody  in  September,  1867,  at  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  convention  held  in  Burlington,  Vt. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  his  coming  into  the  church  where  the  con- 
vention was  held,"  says  General  Estey.  "  His  entrance  was  an 
inspiration  to  every  one  present,  and  from  that  time  until  the  close 
of  the  meeting  the  enthusiasm  which  prevailed  was  something  re- 
markable. About  six  weeks  later  I  visited  Chicago,  and  called  upon 
him.  I  had  simply  met  him  at  the  convention  referred  to,  but  he 
immediately  knew  me  and  called  me  by  name.  This  I  learned  after- 
ward was  one  of  the  peculiar  gifts  with  which  he  was  endowed,  that 
of  putting  names  and  faces  together,  and  rarely  making  a  mistake. 

"  The  following  fall  I  had  the  pleasure  of  entertaining  him  at  my 
home  during  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  convention, 
which  was  held  in  Brattleboro.  We  had  a  number  of  guests,  and 
when  he  came  he  brought  one  of  his  brothers  with  him.  I  shall  never 
forget  one  thing  which  occurred  at  that  time.  As  we  came  out  of 
the  dining-room  after  breakfast  he  whispered  to  me  to  ask  every  one 


130  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

to  pray  at  family  devotions,  which  I  afterward  learned  was  his  way  of 
getting  his  brother  to  offer  his  first  public  prayer.  The  brother 
repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer  as  his  part  of  the  service. 

"  The  summer  following  his  return  from  his  first  trip  to  Europe  he 
was  in  Northfield  holding  meetings,  and  we  used  to  go  down  with  a 
carload  of  people  to  assist,  and  not  only  received  a  great  blessing  our- 
selves, but  were  able  to  help  in  the  inquiry-room. 

"  When  the  schools  were  started  he  invited  me  to  become  one  of 
the  trustees,  which  position  I  have  held  ever  since.  Before  the  Mount 
Hermon  School  was  begun,  he  took  me  over  the  ground  in  his  buggy, 
and  invited  me  to  become  a  trustee  of  that  school,  which  position  I 
very  gladly  accepted;  and  during  its  early  days,  while  he  was  abroad, 
I  visited  the  school  nearly  every  week,  to  straighten  out  such  diffi- 
culties as  might  occur  from  time  to  time  among  the  boys.  There 
were  then  simply  the  two  farm-houses,  with  twelve  boys,  a  teacher, 
a  matron,  and  one  servant  in  each  house. 

"  Our  relations  have  been  very  intimate  ever  since  those  days,  and 
I  consider  it  one  of  the  greatest  honors  of  my  life  to  have  been  in  any 
way  associated  with  him,  and  to  have  known  him  so  intimately.  I 
can  truthfully  assert  that  he  was  the  most  sincere  man  I  ever  knew. 
He  was  extremely  cautious,  and  has  often  said  to  me  that  I  might  be 
able  to  do  such  and  such  things,  but  that  it  would  not  answer  at  all 
for  him,  in  his  position,  to  do  them.  Of  all  the  men  I  ever  knew  I 
think  he  was  the  most  careful  about  keeping  himself  from  every 
appearance  of  evil." 


CHAPTER    XIII 
FIRST  VISIT  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN 

HIS  appreciation  of  other  speakers  was  one  of  Mr.  Moody's 
marked  characteristics.  He  was  always  hunting  for  some 
new  and  well-taught  Bible  teacher  or  some  successful 
gospel  preacher  to  address  his  Illinois  Street  Church  or  the  Farwell 
Hall  meetings.  No  minister  of  any  note  passed  through  Chicago 
without  Mr.  Moody's  learning  of  his  presence  in  town,  and  if  his 
orthodoxy  was  assured,  he  was  certain  to  receive  a  pressing  invitation 
to  address  one  or  both  of  the  gatherings  at  the  church  or  Association. 
This  happy  faculty  of  enlisting  others  brought  him  into  close  personal 
touch  with  most  of  the  leading  Christian  workers,  clerical  or  lay,  who 
visited  Chicago,  including  many  from  abroad. 

From  these  latter  friends  Mr.  Moody  heard  much  of  English 
methods  of  work,  and  he  felt  that  a  greater  knowledge  of  them  would 
be  very  helpful.  In  his  abrupt  and  impulsive  way  he  announced  one 
Sunday,  in  1867,  to  his  mission  school,  that  he  was  going  to  start  for 
England  that  week.  Mrs.  Moody  was  at  that  time  a  sufferer  from 
asthma,  and  their  physician  had  suggested  that  a  sea  voyage,  with  a^n 
entire  change  of  air  and  scene,  was  desirable. 

There  were  two.  men  in  England  whom  Mr.  Moody  had  a  great 
desire  to  hear  and  meet— Charles  H.  Spurgeon  and  George  ffiller, 
and  with  the  twofold  purpose  of  affording  a  beneficial  trip  for  Mrs. 
Moody  and  making  the  acquaintance  of  these  leaders  in  Christian 
work,  he  went  abroad. 

At  that  time  he  was  unknown  in  England  except  to  a  few  who  had 


I32  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

visited  America.  Among  these  were  Fountain  J.  Hartley,  secretary 
of  the  London  Sunday-school  Union,  who  invited  Mr.  Moody  to 
speak  at  an  anniversary  meeting  in  Exeter  Hall.  It  was  customary 
for  a  speaker  on  such  an  occasion  to  be  connected  with  a  resolution,  as 
its  mover  or  seconder,  in  order  to  give  him  a  right  to  the  floor.  Mr. 
Moody  was  therefore  assigned  to  move  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chair- 
man of  the  evening,  who  in  this  instance  was  the  well-known  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury. 

"  Towards  the  close  of  the  meeting,"  says  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trum- 
bull  in  relating  this  incident,  of  which  he  was  a  witness,  "  the  chair- 
man yielded  his  chair  to  the  vice-chairman,  in  order  that  such  a 
resolution  could  be  offered.  The  vice-chairman  announced  that  they 
were  glad  to  welcome  their  '  American  cousin,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moody, 
of  Chicago/  who  would  now  '  move  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  noble 
Earl '  who  had  presided  on  this  occasion.  With  refreshing  frankness 
and  an  utter  disregard  for  conventionalities  and  mere  compliments, 
Mr.  Moody  burst  upon  the  audience  with  the  bold  announcement : 

"  '  The  chairman  has  made  two  mistakes.  To  begin  with,  I'm  not 
the  "  Reverend  "  Mr.  Moody  at  all.  I'm  plain  Dwight  L.  Moody,  a 
Sabbath-school  worker.  And  then  I'm  not  your  "American  cousin"  ! 
By  the  grace  of  God  I'm  your  brother,  who  is  interested  with  you  in 
our  Father's  work  for  His  children. 

' '  And  now  about  this  vote  of  thanks  to  "  the  noble  Earl "  for 
being  our  chairman  this  evening.  I  don't  see  why  we  should  thank 
him,  any  more  than  he  should  thank  us.  When  at  one  time  they 
offered  to  thank  our  Mr.  Lincoln  for  presiding  over  a  meeting  in 
Illinois,  he  stopped  it.  He  said  he'd  tried  to  do  his  duty,  and  they'd 
tried  to  do  theirs.  He  thought  it  was  an  even  thing  all  round.' 

"That  opening  fairly  took  the  breath  away  from  Mr.  Moody's 
hearers.  Such  talk  could  not  be  gauged  by  any  standard.  Its 
novelty  was  delightful,  and  Air.  Moody  carried  his  English  hearers 
from  that  time  on." 

He  soon  found  his  way  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 


First  Visit  to  Great  Britain  133 

in  Aldersgate  Street,  and  left  a  permanent  impression  on  English 
religious  life  by  establishing  a  noon  prayer-meeting.  The  first  meet- 
ing was  held  on  May  I3th,  when  nearly  a  hundred  men  were  present, 
and  the  numbers  continued  to  increase  until  there  was  a  daily  atten- 
dance of  from  two  to  three  hundred.  Mr.  Moody's  first  text  was: 
"  To  every  man  his  work."  His  experiences  of  gospel  work  in  Chi- 
cago were  told  with  a  freshness  and  vigor  that  captivated  all  who 
heard  him.  The  unique  and  original  way  in  which  he  pursued  his 
efforts  among  the  rough  and  lawless  children  of  Chicago  was  de- 
scribed with  thrilling  interest.  The  following  letter  to  his  mother  is 
an  indication  of  the  impression  Mr.  Moody  received  at  this  time : 

"  I  have  at  last  got  started  here.  I  send  you  an  account  of  the  daily 
union  prayer-meeting.  It  is  a  great  success.  They  are  starting 
them  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  I  am  in  hopes  great  good  will 
come  from  it.  They  are  also  starting  them  in  different  parts  of  the 
Kingdom. 

"  The  great  orphan  schools  of  George  Miiller  are  at  Bristol.  He 
has  1,150  children  in  his  house,  but  never  asks  a  man  for  a  cent  to 
support  them.  He  calls  on  God,  and  God  sends  money  to  him.  It 
is  wonderful  to  see  what  God  can  do  with  a  man  of  prayer." 

When  Mr.  Moody  was  in  Bristol,  on  May  10,  1867,  he  gave  an 
address  to  a  Sunday-school  Bible  class,  closing  with  the  request  that 
the  young  men  who  desired  prayer  should  rise.  Fifteen  members 
of  the  class  rose  immediately,  among  them  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie, 
then  a  lad  of  sixteen,  who  later  became  a  medical  missionary  in  China, 
and  was  the  means  of  founding  and  conducting  the  first  government 
medical  school  in  that  empire  in  connection  with  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

While  Mr.  Mackenzie  dated  his  earnest  desire  for  a  spiritual  life 
from  that  occasion,  he  had  not  yet  fully  realized  it,  and  it  was  not  till 
the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  been  impressed  by  Mr. 
Moody's  address  that  he  rose  with  several  companions  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  avowed  himself  a 


134  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Eight  years  after  his  college  student  life 
he  met  Mr.  Moody  in  "  a  never  to  be  forgotten  meeting."  Mrs.  Bry- 
son,  his  biographer,  says : 

"  It  seems  to  have  greatly  cheered  the  heart  of  the  young  soldier, 
who  was  just  putting  on  the  armor  for  service  in  the  foreign  field, 
to  receive  words  of  counsel  and  blessing  from  one  who  some  years 
before  had  been  the  instrument  in  God's  hands  of  leading  him  to 
more  earnest  thought  concerning  the  verities  of  the  unseen  and 
eternal." 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mr.  Moody  heard  the  words  which  marked 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  his  life : 

"  The  world  has  yet  to  see  what  God  will  do  with  and  for  and  through 
and  in  and  by  the  man  who  is  fully  and  wholly  consecrated  to  Him" 

"  He  said  '  a  man,'  "  thought  Moody;  "  he  did  not  say  a  great  man, 
nor  a  learned  man,  nor  a  rich  man,  nor  a  wise  man,  nor  an  eloquent 
man,  nor  a  '  smart '  man,  but  simply  '  a  man.'  I  am  a  man,  and  it  lies 
with  the  man  himself  whether  he  will  or  will  not  make  that  entire  and 
full  consecration.  I  will  try  my  utmost  to  be  that  man." 

Being  introduced  one  day  by  a  London  friend  to  Mr.  Bewley,  of 
Dublin,  the  latter  asked : 

"  Is  this  young  man  all  O  and  O  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  '  O  and  O  '  ?  "  said  the  friend. 

"  Is  he  Out  and  Out  for  Christ?  "  was  the  reply. 

This  remark  deepened  the  impression  made,  and  from  that  time 
forward  the  endeavor  to  be  "  O  and  O  "  for  Christ  was  supreme. 

Before  sailing  from  New  York  a  friend  had  advised  him  strongly 
not  to  miss  meeting  the  missionary  veteran,  Dr.  Duff,  and  also  to  see 
Dr.  Guthrie's  work  in  Edinburgh.  Thither,  therefore,  Mr.  Moody 
went,  and  while  he  failed  in  his  special  purpose  he  had  the  opportunity 
of  speaking  one  night  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall  and  meeting  several 
prominent  religious  leaders. 

This  trip  was  very  helpful  to  Mr.  Moody,  and  he  never  ceased  to 
appreciate  the  associations  then  formed,  In  speaking  at  the  annual 


First  Visit  to  Great  Britain  135 

breakfast  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  London 
shortly  before  returning  to  America  he  said: 

"  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  in  your  city  two  months,  and  I 
have  thought  you  were  exalted  to  Heaven  with  privileges — privileges 
so  numerous  that  I  pity  a  man  who,  without  hope,  goes  down  to  death 
from  the  city  of  London.  I  have  longed  to  see  the  founder  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Far  away  in  the  western  part 
of  America  I  have  often  prayed  for  this  Association,  and  my  heart  has 
been  full  this  morning  as  I  sat  here  listening  to  my  friends  and  looking 
them  in  the  face. 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  ever  have  this  privilege  again ;  it  is  not 
likely  that  I  shall;  next  month  I  return  to  my  home,  but  I  shall  always 
remember  this  morning.  It  is  said  that  Napoleon,  after  his  army  had 
accomplished  a  great  victory,  ordered  a  medal  to  be  struck  with  these 
words :  '  I  was  there  ' — that  was  all.  In  after  years  when  I  am  far 
away  in  the  western  prairies  of  Americaj  and  when  May  comes,  I  shall 
think  that  in  1867  '  I  was  there/  and  as  the  years  roll  on,  if  it  shall 
be  my  privilege  to  meet  in  yonder  City  any  that  are  here  this  morning, 
we  may  there  sit  down  by  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river  of  the  water 
of  life  that  flows  from  the  throne  of  God  and  talk  of  this  morning.  It 
will  give  us  pleasure  then  to  think  that  we  were  together  in  the  fight." 

Then  Mr.  Moody  went  on  to  tell  of  new  methods  of  work  in  Amer- 
ica, especially  in  Chicago,  which  moved  every  one,  now  to  laughter 
and  now  to  tears.  His  own  visits  to  the  saloons  and  other  haunts 
of  sin  developed  an  ingenuity  and  tactfulness  which  showed  them- 
selves born  of  a  deep  and  passionate  love  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

A  trip  abroad  seldom  proves  so  great  a  success  as  did  this  journey, 
the  purpose  of  its  undertaking  being  perfectly  gratified — Mrs.  Moody 
entirely  and  finally  cured,  while  Mr.  Moody  met  both  George  Miiller 
and  Charles  H.  Spurgeon.  A  short  visit  to  the  Paris  Exposition, 
the  great  "  world's  fair  "  inaugurated  by  Napoleon  III,  was  an  added 
pleasure. 

On  July  ist,  on  the  eve  of  their  return  to  America,  a  farewell  recep- 


136  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

tion  was  given  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moody  in  London.  The  appreciation 
and  friendship  which  the  Sunday-school  worker,  their  "  brother  " 
from  America,  had  won  among  Christian  workers  during  this  brief 
visit  of  three  months  were  widely  recognized.  In  the  opinion  of 
one  of  the  speakers : 

"  Few  men  who  have  visited  a  foreign  shore  have  endeared  them- 
selves to  so  many  hearts  in  so  short  a  time,  or  with  an  unknown  name 
and  without  letters  of  commendation  won  their  way  so  deeply  into 
the  affections  of  a  multitude  of  Christian  brethren  as  had  Mr.  Moody. 
Few  had  ever  heard  of  him  before,  but  having  talked  with  him  or 
heard  him  speak  of  Jesus,  asked  for  no  other  warrant  to  yield  him  a 
large  measure  of  their  love." 

It  was  on  this  first  visit  to  Great  Britain  that  he  met  for  the 
first  time  R.  C.  Morgan,  then  and  now  the  editor  of  that  most 
influential  and  widely  circulated  weekly  religious  periodical  known 
for  years  as  "  The  Revival  "  and  later  as  "  The  Christian."  A  warm 
attachment  sprang  up  at  once  between  these  two  men  who  were  work- 
ing, each  in  his  own  way,  to  spread  the  Gospel. 

In  later  years  Mr.  Moody  referred  to  his  earlier  efforts  as  being  in 
a  measure  an  exhibition  of  "zeal  without  knowledge";  but,  as  he 
would  also  add,  "  There  is  much  more  hope  for  a  man  in  such  a  con- 
dition than  for  that  man  who  has  knowledge  without  zeal."  Mr. 
Morgan,  a  careful  and  thorough  Bible  student,  was  drawn  to  the 
young  American  stranger,  and  from  the  first  gave  him  sympathy  and 
encouragement,  and  has  ever  been  a  most  generous  supporter  in  all 
his  later  projects.  Before  he  visited  the  British  Isles  again  Mr. 
Moody  too  was  to  receive  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Word  of 
God. 


CHAPTER    XIV 
INFLUENCE  OF  HENRY  MOOREHOUSE 

ANEW  epoch  in  Mr.  Moody's  religious  experience  and  preach- 
ing was  marked  by  his  friendship  with  Henry  Moorehouse. 
The  acquaintance  made  in  Dublin  during  this  first  short 
visit  to  Great  Britain  seems  to  have  been  but  casual. 

"  I  had  read  in  the  papers  about  '  The  Boy  Preacher/  said  Mr. 
Moody  in  relating  the  circumstances  of  his  meeting  with  Moorehouse, 
"  but  I  did  not  know  that  this  was  he.  He  introduced  himself  to  me 
and  said  he  would  like  to  come  to  Chicago  to  preach.  He  was  a 
beardless  boy — he  didn't  look  more  than  seventeen — and  I  said  to 
myself, '  He  can't  preach.'  He  wanted  me  to  let  him  know  what  boat 
I  was  going  to  America  on,  as  he  would  like  to  go  on  the  boat  with 
me.  Well,  I  thought  he  couldn't  preach  and  I  didn't  let  him  know. 
I  hadn't  been  in  Chicago  a  great  many  weeks  before  I  got  a  letter 
saying  that  he  had  arrived  in  America  and  that  he  would  come  to 
Chicago  and  preach  for  me  if  I  wanted  him.  Well,  I  sat  down  and 
wrote  a  very  cold  letter :  '  If  you  come  West,  call  on  me/  I  thought 
that  would  be  the  last  I  should  hear  of  him.  I  soon  got  another 
letter  saying  he  was  still  in  the  country,  and  would  come  to  Chicago 
and  preach  for  me  if  I  wanted  him.  I  wrote  again,  '  If  you  happen 
to  come  West,  drop  in  on  me/  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  I  got  a 
letter  stating  that  on  a  certain  Thursday  he  would  be  in  Chicago  and 
would  preach  for  me.  Then  what  to  do  with  him  I  didn't  know.  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  that  he  couldn't  preach.  I  was  going  to  be 
out  of  town  Thursday  and  Friday,  and  I  told  some  of  the  officers  of 


138  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  church,  'There  is  an  Englishman  coming  here  Thursday  who 
wants  to  preach.     I  don't  know  whether  he  can  or  not/ 

"  They  said  there  was  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  the  church,  and 
they  did  not  think  he  had  better  preach  then;  he  was  a  stranger,  and 
he  might  do  more  harm  than  good.  '  Well/  I  said,  *  you  might  try 
him.  I  will  announce  him  to  speak  Thursday  night.  Your  regular 
weekly  meeting  is  on  Friday.  After  hearing  him  you  can  either  an- 
nounce that  he  will  speak  again  the  next  night  or  you  can  have  your 
usual  prayer-meeting.  If  he  speaks  well  both  nights  you  will  know 
whether  to  announce  him  or  me  for  the  Sunday  meetings.  I  will  be 
back  Saturday/ 

"  When  I  got  back  Saturday  morning  I  was  anxious  to  know  how 
he  got  on.  The  first  thing  I  said  to  my  wife  when  I  got  in  the  house 
was,  '  How  is  the  young  Englishman  coming  along  ?  How  do  the 
people  like  him  ?  ' 

' '  They  like  him  very  much/ 

"'Did  you  hear  him?' 

" '  Yes/ 

1 '  Well,  did  you  like  him  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  I  liked  him  very  much.  He  has  preached  two  sermons 
from  that  verse  of  John,  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life,"  and  I  think  you  will  like  him,  al- 
though he  preaches  a  little  differently  from  you/ 

"'How  is  that?' 

Well,  he  tells  the  worst  sinners  that  God  loves  them/ 

"  '  Then/  said  I,  '  he  is  wrong/ 

( '  I  think  you  will  agree  with  him  when  you  hear  him/  said  she, 
'  because  he  backs  up  everything  he  says  with  the  Bible/ 

"  Sunday  came,  and  as  I  went  to  the  church  I  noticed  that  every 
one  brought  his  Bible.  The  morning  address  was  to  Christians.  I 
had  never  heard  anything  quite  like  it.  He  gave  chapter  and  verse 
to  prove  every  statement  he  made.  When  night  came  the  church 


Influence  of  Henry  Moorehouse  13^ 

was  packed.  '  Now,  beloved  friends,'  said  the  preacher,  'if  you  will  turn 
to  the  third  chapter  of  John  and  the  sixteenth  verse,  you  will  find  my 
text.'  He  preached  the  most  extraordinary  sermon  from  that  verse. 
He  did  not  divide  the  text  into  '  secondly '  and  '  thirdly '  and 
'  fourthly ';  he  just  took  the  whole  verse,  and  then  went  through  the 
Bible  from  Genesis  to  Revelation  to  prove  that  in  all  ages  God  loved 
the  world.  God  had  sent  prophets  and  patriarchs  and  holy  men  to 
warn  us,  and  then  He  sent  His  Son,  and  after  they  killed  Him,  He 
sent  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  never  knew  up  to  that  time  that  God  loved 
us  so  much.  This  heart  of  mine  began  to  thaw  out;  I  could  not  keep 
back  the  tears.  It  was  like  news  from  a  far  country :  I  just  drank  it 
in.  So  did  the  crowded  congregation.  I  tell  you  there  is  one  thing 
that  draws  above  everything  else  in  this  world,  and  that  is  love.  A 
man  that  has  no  one  to  love  him,  no  mother,  no  wife,  no  children,  no 
brother,  no  sister,  belongs  to  the  class  that  commits  suicide. 

"  It's  pretty  hard  to  get  a  crowd  out  in  Chicago  on  a  Monday  night, 
but  the  people  came.  They  brought  their  Bibles,  and  Moorehouse 
began, '  Beloved  friends,  if  you  will  turn  to  the  third  chapter  of  John, 
and  the  sixteenth  verse,  you  will  find  my  text,'  and  again  he  showed 
on  another  line,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  that  God  loved  us.  He 
could  turn  to  almost  any  part  of  the  Bible  and  prove  it.  Well,  I 
thought  that  was  better  than  the  other  one;  he  struck  a  higher  note 
than  ever,  and  it  was  sweet  to  my  soul  to  hear  it.  He  just  beat  that 
truth  down  into  my  heart,  and  I  have  never  doubted  it  since.  I  used 
to  preach  that  God  was  behind  the  sinner  with  a  double-edged  sword 
ready  to  hew  him  down.  I  have  got  done  with  that.  I  preach  now 
that  God  is  behind  him  with  love,  and  he  is  running  away  from  the 
God  of  love. 

"  Tuesday  night  came,  and  we  thought  he  had  surely  exhausted 
that  text  and  that  he  would  take  another,  but  he  said :  '  If  you  will 
turn  to  the  third  chapter  of  John  and  the  sixteenth  verse,  you  will  find 
my  text,'  and  he  preached  again  from  that  wonderful  text,  and  this 
night  he  seemed  to  strike  a  higher  chord  still.  '  God  so  loved  the 


140  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ' — not  going  to  have  when  you  die, 
but  have  it  right  here,  now — '  eternal  life.'  By  that  time  we  began  to 
believe  it,  and  we  have  never  doubted  it  since. 

"  For  six  nights  he  had  preached  on  this  one  text.  The  seventh 
night  came,  and  he  went  into  the  pulpit.  Every  eye  was  upon  him.  He 
said, '  Beloved  friends,  I  have  been  hunting  all  day  for  a  new  text,  but 
I  cannot  find  anything  so  good  as  the  old  one;  so  we  will  go  back  to 
the  third  chapter  of  John  and  the  sixteenth  verse,'  and  he  preached 
the  seventh  sermon  from  those  wonderful  words,  '  God  so  loved  the 
world'  I  remember  the  end  of  that  sermon :  '  My  friends/  he  said, 
'  for  a  whole  week  I  have  been  trying  to  tell  you  how  much  God  loves 
you,  but  I  cannot  do  it  with  this  poor  stammering  tongue.  If  I  could 
borrow  Jacob's  ladder  and  climb  up  into  Heaven  and  ask  Gabriel,  who 
stands  in  the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  to  tell  me  how  much  love  the 
Father  has  for  the  world,  all  he  could  say  would  be :  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. ' '  ' 

"  If  a  man  gets  up  in  that  pulpit  and  gives  out  that  text  to-day, 
there  is  a  smile  all  over  the  church." 

Mr.  Moorehouse  taught  Moody  to  draw  his  sword  full  length, 
to  fling  the  scabbard  away,  and  enter  the  battle  with  the  naked 
blade. 

This  first  visit  to  America  was  repeated  in  August,  1868,  when  he 
again  visited  Chicago  and  labored  with  Mr.  Moody  for  two  months, 
preaching  in  his  church  and  in  Farwell  Hall.  During  this  time, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Moody,  he  went  to  various  other  cities,  holding 
some  seventy-two  meetings.  In  the  winter  of  1872  he  came  again 
to  America  and  conducted  services  in  Chicago,  and  again  in  1878 
he  assisted  Mr.  Moody's  evangelistic  work  in  a  New  England  mission. 

Mr.  Moorehouse  was  among  the  first  to  welcome  Moody  to  Eng- 
land in  June,  1875,  ar>d  assisted  him  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and  other 
places,  taking  a  leading  part  in  his  all-day  meetings.  The  delighted 


ILLINOIS  STREET  CHURCH,  CHICAGO. 

First  building  erected  by  Mr.  Moody.    Scene  of  his  efforts  before  Chicago  fire. 


MOODY'S  TABERNACLE. 

First  building  erected  after  Chicago  fire.    Occupied  for  two  years.    A  scene  of  remarkable 
evangelistic  effort. 


D.   L.   MOODY. 

From  a  portrait  in  oil  by  Healey.     The  one  relic  saved  by  Mrs.   Moody  from  the 
Chicago  fire. 


Influence  of  Henry  Moorehouse  143 

recognition  of  each  other's  strength  of  character  bound  them  closely 
together  in  a  strong  friendship.  Mr.  Moorehouse's  affectionate 
nature  and  devotion  to  the  Master  and  Mr.  Moody's  strong  common 
sense  and  ever-widening  influence  combined  to  make  them  irresistible 
companions  in  evangelistic  work. 


CHAPTER    XV 
THE  CHICAGO  FIRE  AND  ITS  RESULTS 

IN  the  spring  of  1871,  in  company  with  Philip  Phillips  and  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  Vincent,  Mr.  Moody  went  on  a  trip  to  California.  On 
his  return  to  Chicago  the  weather  had  become  very  hot,  his 
audience  was  scattered,  and  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  get  them 
together  again.  For  some  time  he  considered  the  means  of  getting 
hold  of  them  again.  At  one  time  he  thought  he  would  get  up  some 
kind  of  sacred  concert,  or  secure  some  one  to  lecture  on  historical 
events,  for  he  feared  that  the  Gospel  would  not  "  draw  "  in  such 
weather. 

After  praying  over  it  the  thought  came  to  him :  "  Preach  to  them 
upon  Bible  characters."  He  had  some  six  or  eight  of  these  in  his 
mind,  and  decided  to  begin  with  Adam.  So  he  took  up  Adam  and 
studied  the  subject,  but  feared  that  he  could  never  talk  about  him  for 
thirty  minutes.  Then  he  thought  that  he  would  try  Enoch.  Next 
he  studied  Noah,  and  then  came  to  Abraham,  whom  he  selected  as 
one  of  the  characters.  It  was  not  long  before  Farwell  Hall  began 
to  fill  up,  and  inside  of  five  weeks  he  had  large  congregations. 

When  he  came  to  the  study  of  Christ  he  intended  to  devote  six 
nights  to  His  life.  He  had  been  spending  four  Sunday  nights  on  the 
subject,  and  had  traced  His  career  from  the  manger  to  His  arrest  and 
trial.  On  the  fifth  Sunday  night,  October  8th,  he  preached  to  the 
largest  congregation  that  he  had  ever  addressed  in  that  city,  hav- 
ing taken  for  his  text,  "  What  then  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  which  is 
called  Christ  ?  "  After  preaching — or  talking,  as  he  did  not  call  it 


The  Chicago  Fire  and  its  Results  145 

preaching  then— with  all  his  power  of  entreaty,  presenting  Christ  as 
a  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  he  said : 

"  I  wish  you  would  take  this  text  home  with  you  and  turn  it  over 
in  your  minds  during  the  week,  and  next  Sabbath  we  will  come  to 
Calvary  and  the  cross,  and  we  will  decide  what  to  do  with  Jesus  of 
Nazareth." 

"  What  a  mistake !  "  he  said,  in  relating  the  story  to  a  large  audi- 
ence in  Chicago  on  the  twenty-second  anniversary  of  the  great  fire  in 
that  city  in  1871 ;  "  I  have  never  dared  to  give  an  audience  a  week  to 
think  of  their  salvation  since.  If  they  were  lost  they  might  rise  up  in 
judgment  against  me.  I  remember  Mr.  Sankey's  singing,  and  how 
his  voice  rang  when  he  came  to  that  pleading  verse : 

'"To-day  the  Saviour  calls, 

For  refuge  fly ! 
The  storm  of  Justice  falls, 
And  death  is  nigh  ! ' 

"  I  have  never  seen  that  congregation  since.  I  have  hard  work 
to  keep  back  the  tears  to-day.  I  have  looked  over  this  audience, 
and  not  a  single  one  is  here  that  I  preached  to  that  night.  I  have 
a  great  many  old  friends  and  am  pretty  well  acquainted  in  Chicago, 
but  twenty-two  years  have  passed  away,  and  I  have  not  seen  that 
congregation  since,  and  I  never  will  meet  those  people  again  until  I 
meet  them  in  another  world.  But  I  want  to  tell  you  of  one  lesson  I 
learned  that  night,  which  I  have  never  forgotten,  and  that  is,  when 
I  preach,  to  press  Christ  upon  the  people  then  and  there,  and  try  to 
bring  them  to  a  decision  on  the  spot.  I  would  rather  have  that  right 
hand  cut  off  than  to  give  an  audience  now  a  week  to  decide  what  to 
do  with  Jesus.  I  have  often  been  criticised ;  people  have  said : 

"  '  Moody,  you  seem  to  be  trying  to  get  people  to  decide  all  at 
once :  why  do  you  not  give  them  time  to  consider  ?  ' 

"  I  have  asked  God  many  times  to  forgive  me  for  telling  people  that 
night  to  take  a  week  to  think  it  over,  and  if  He  spares  my  life,  I  will 


146  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

never  do  it  again.  This  audience  will  break  up  in  a  few  moments — 
we  may  never  meet  after  to-day.  There  is  something  terribly  solemn 
about  a  congregation  like  this. 

"  You  will  notice  that  Pilate  was  just  in  the  condition  of  my  audi- 
ence that  night,  just  the  condition  that  you  are  in  to-day — he  had  to 
decide  then  and  there  what  to  do  with  Jesus.  The  thing  was  sprung 
upon  him  suddenly,  although  I  do  not  think  that  Jesus  Christ  could 
have  been  a  stranger  to  Pilate.  I  do  not  believe  that  he  had  preached 
in  Judea  for  months,  and  also  in  Jerusalem,  without  Pilate's  having 
heard  of  His  teachings.  He  must  have  heard  of  the  sermons  He  had 
preached;  he  must  have  heard  of  the  doctrine  He  taught;  he  must 
have  heard  of  the  wonderful  parables  that  He  uttered ;  he  must  have 
heard  of  the  wonderful  miracles  that  He  had  performed ;  he  must  have 
heard  how  Herod  had  taken  the  life  of  His  forerunner  by  having  him 
beheaded,  and  of  the  cruel  way  Herod  had  treated  Him :  Pilate  was 
no  stranger  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

"  Ever  since  that  night  of  the  great  fire  I  have  determined  as  long 
as  God  spares  my  life  to  make  more  of  Christ  than  in  the  past.  I 
thank  God  that  He  is  a  thousand  times  more  to  me  to-day  than  He 
was  twenty-two  years  ago.  I  am  not  what  I  wish  I  was,  but  I  am 
a  good  deal  better  than  I  was  when  Chicago  was  on  fire." 

The  year  1871  was  a  critical  one  in  Mr.  Moody 's  career.  He  real- 
ized more  and  more  how  little  he  was  fitted  by  personal  acquirements 
for  his  work.  An  intense  hunger  and  thirst  for  spiritual  power  were 
aroused  in  him  by  two  women  who  used  to  attend  the  meetings  and 
sit  on  the  front  seat.  He  could  see  by  the  expression  on  their  faces 
that  they  were  praying.  At  the  close  of  services  they  would  say  to 
him: 

"  We  have  been  praying  for  you.'' 

"  Why  don't  you  pray  for  the  people  ?  "  Mr.  Moody  would  ask. 

"  Because  you  need  the  power  of  the  Spirit,"  they  would  say. 

"  I  need  the  power !  Why,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  in  relating  the  inci- 
dent years  after,  "  I  thought  I  had  power.  I  had  the  largest  congre- 


The  Chicago  Fire  and  its  Results  147 

gations  in  Chicago,  and  there  were  many  conversions.  I  was  in  a 
sense  satisfied.  But  right  along  those  two  godly  women  kept  pray- 
ing for  me,  and  their  earnest  talk  about  anointing  for  special  service 
set  me  to  thinking.  I  asked  them  to  come  and  talk  with  me,  and 
they  poured  out  their  hearts  in  prayer  that  I  might  receive  the  filling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  There  came  a  great  hunger  into  my  soul.  I  did 
not  know  what  it  was.  I  began  to  cry  out  as  I  never  did  before.  I 
really  felt  that  I  did  not  want  to  live  if  I  could  not  have  this  power 
for  service." 

While  Mr.  Moody  was  in  this  mental  and  spiritual  condition  Chi- 
cago was  laid  in  ashes.  The  great  fire  swept  out  of  existence  both 
Farwell  Hall  and  the  Illinois  Street  Church.  Sunday  night  after  the 
meeting,  as  Mr.  Moody  went  homeward,  he  saw  the  glare  of  flames, 
and  knew  it  meant  ruin  to  Chicago.  About  one  o'clock  Farwell  Hall 
was  burned  and  soon  his  church  went  down.  Everything  was  scat- 
tered. At  midnight  the  fierceness  of  the  fire  seemed  to  be  waning, 
and  it  was  thought  that  the  fire  department  could  gain  the  upper 
hand,  as  they  had  done  the  night  before.  The  family  retired,  but 
within  an  hour  a  loud  call  was  made  to  all  the  residents  of  their  street 
to  hasten  their  escape.  The  fire  had  crossed  the  river  and  was  rapidly 
advancing. 

It  was  too  late  to  think  of  saving  much  more  than  could  be  carried 
in  the  hands.  A  neighbor  took  Mr.  Moody's  two  children  in  his 
already  crowded  carriage,  and  made  his  escape  north.  A  few  articles 
of  silver  and  some  valued  tokens  of  friendship  were  hastily  placed  in 
a  baby  cart.  But  there  was  one  article  Mrs.  Moody's  heart  was  set 
upon  saving.  This  was  a  portrait  in  oil  of  Mr.  Moody  by  the  artist 
Healy,  which  hung  on  the  wall  of  their  parlor.  It  was  a  gift  from  the 
artist,  presented  to  Mrs.  Moody  after  their  return  from  the  first  trip 
to  Europe  in  1867.  A  free  lease  of  this  home,  completely  furnished, 
was  presented  to  Mr.  Moody  at  that  time  by  his  Chicago  friends, 
and  this  portrait  Mrs.  Moody  prized  above  anything  the  house 
contained. 


148  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

A  stranger  who  had  entered  the  room  assisted  in  taking  it  from 
the  wall.  Calling  Mr.  Moody,  his  wife  urged  him  to  save  it  for  her. 
The  ludicrous  side  of  the  situation  at  once  appealed  to  him,  notwith- 
standing the  terror  of  that  awful  night. 

"  Take  my  own  picture !  "  he  said.  "  Well,  that  would  be  amus- 
ing! Suppose  I  am  met  on  the  street  by  friends  in  the  same  plight 
as  ourselves,  and  they  say : 

" '  Hello,  Moody,  glad  you  have  escaped ;  what's  that  you  have 
saved  and  cling  to  so  affectionately  ? ' — wouldn't  it  sound  well  to 
reply: 

"  '  Oh,  I've  got  my  own  portrait  ?  ' ' 

No  entreaty  could  prevail  on  Mr.  Moody,  but  the  canvas  was  has- 
tily knocked  out  of  the  heavy  frame,  and  carried  off  by  Mrs.  Moody 
herself — the  one  relic  rescued  from  their  home.  A  bruised  face  was 
part  of  the  price  paid  for  this  effort,  for  once  on  the  street  there  was 
a  constant  struggle  with  the  terrific  wind.  Love  won,  but  only  after 
a  fierce  battle.  This  portrait  now  hangs  on  the  walls  of  the  North- 
field  home,  a  reminder  of  that  night  of  fiery  ordeal. 

As  soon  as  his  wife  and  family  were  safe  with  friends  Mr.  Moody 
devoted  himself  to  relief  work.  Before  long  he  started  for  the  East  to 
raise  money  for  the  homeless,  and  also  for  the  new  church.  George 
H.  Stuart  and  John  Wanamaker,  of  Philadelphia,  and  other  friends 
in  the  East  raised  $3,000,  and  a  temporary  building,  75  by  100  feet, 
was  immediately  reared  on  a  lot  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  former 
church.  On  December  24,  1871,  just  two  months  and  fifteen  days 
after  the  fire,  this  building,  known  as  the  North  Side  Tabernacle, 
was  dedicated. 

When  in  New  York  he  heard  there  was  a  rich  man  in  Fall  River 
who  was  very  liberal.  So  he  went  to  him,  and  secured  a  check  for 
a  large  amount.  His  new  friend,  who  was  Mr.  R.  K.  Remington, 
took  him  in  his  carriage  to  the  houses  of  other  rich  men  in  the  city. 
When  they  parted  at  the  train  Mr.  Moody  grasped  his  hand  and 


The  Chicago  Fire  and  its  Results  149 

"  If  you  ever  come  to  Chicago,  call  on  me ;  and  I  will  try  to  return 
your  kindness." 

Said  Mr.  Remington,  "  Don't  wait  for  me;  do  it  to  the  first  man 
that  comes  along." 

During  this  Eastern  visit  the  hunger  for  more  spiritual  power  was 
still  upon  Mr.  Moody. 

"  My  heart  was  not  in  the  work  of  begging,"  he  said.  "  I  could 
not  appeal.  I  was  crying  all  the  time  that  God  would  fill  me  with 
His  Spirit.  Well,  one  day,  in  the  city  of  New  York — oh,  what  a  day ! 
— I  cannot  describe  it,  I  seldom  refer  to  it;  it  is  almost  too  sacred  an 
experience  to  name.  Paul  had  an  experience  of  which  he  never 
spoke  for  fourteen  years.  I  can  only  say  that  God  revealed  Himself 
to  me,  and  I  had  such  an  experience  of  His  love  that  I  had  to  ask 
Him  to  stay  His  hand.  I  went  to  preaching  again.  The  sermons 
were  not  different;  I  did  not  present  any  new  truths,  and  yet  hun- 
dreds were  converted.  I  would  not  now  be  placed  back  where  I  was 
before  that  blessed  experience  if  you  should  give  me  all  the  world — 
it  would  be  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance." 

When  Mr.  Moody  returned  to  Chicago  his  mission  work  at  the 
new  tabernacle  went  forward  successfully,  and  within  a  year  steps 
were  taken  to  erect  a  permanent  building.  The  lot  on  which  the 
present  church  stands  was  secured.  Contributions  came  in  from  all 
quarters,  thousands  of  Sunday-school  children  contributing  five  cents 
each  to  place  a  brick  in  the  new  edifice.  For  two  years  the  basement 
of  the  present  building  was  roofed  over  temporarily  and  used  for 
meetings,  and  finally,  as  a  subsequent  chapter  will  explain,  means 
were  provided  for  the  completion  of  the  structure  which  has  since 
been  known  as  the  Chicago  Avenue  Church. 

Five  years  after  the  great  fire,  when  he  had  returned  from  his  work 
abroad,  Mr.  Moody  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  members  of 
the  Chicago  Avenue  Church,  whom  he  loved  so  dearly : 

"  I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  I  would  like  to  be  with  you  on  Fast- 
day,  but  God  has  ordered  it  otherwise.  As  I  am  alone  to-day  with 


1 50  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

none  but  my  blessed  Master,  waiting  in  this  hotel  for  the  Sabbath  to 
pass,  so  that  I  can  get  on  to  my  home,  where  I  can  see  and  try  to 
help  cheer  my  heart-broken  mother  (he  had  just  received  word  of  the 
sudden  death  of  a  brother),  I  feel  that  I  must  tell  you  some  of  the 
thoughts  that  have  been  passing  through  my  mind. 

"  For  fifteen  years  I  have  been  especially  burdened  for  three  ob- 
jects :  the  church,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  a  dear 
brother,  who  is  now  in  Heaven.  God  has  answered  my  prayer  for 
him,  saved  him,  made  him  useful  to  others,  and  now  taken  him  to 
Himself.  That  burden  is  gone.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation has  been  blessed  of  late,  too.  But  how  is  it  with  my  first  love  ? 
For  years  I  seldom  get  on  my  knees  in  private  but  I  think  and  pray 
for  the  dear  church  in  Chicago,  and  of  late  you  have  been  on  my  mind 
and  heart  far  more  than  usual.  Are  you  going  to  let  this  time  of 
blessing  pass  without  a  blessing  to  you? 

"  The  only  way  any  church  can  get  a  blessing  is  to  lay  aside  all 
difference,  all  criticism,  all  coldness  and  party  feeling,  and  come  to 
the  Lord  as  one  man ;  and  when  the  church  lives  in  the  power  of  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians  I  am  sure  that  many  will  be 
added  daily  to  the  flock  of  God.  I  would  like  to  have  the  church 
read  that  chapter  together  on  their  knees  on  Thursday  and,  as  you 
do  so,  pray  God  to  apply  it  with  power.  Of  late  my  earnest  prayer 
to  God  has  been  that  He  would  help  me  to  save  more,  and  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  wonderfully  He  has  answered  my  prayer.  It  seems  as 
if  you  were  all  much  nearer  and  dearer  to  me  than  ever.  My  heart 
goes  out  to  you,  and  I  long  to  see  you  all  coming  constantly  to  God 
for  a  fresh  supply  of  love. 

"  I  found  a  verse  in  I  Peter,  iv.  8,  to-day.  I  never  saw  it  before: 
'  Above  all  things  put  on  love:  Think  much  of  that  one  expression. 
Put  it  at  the  head  of  the  list.  Faith  is  good,  but  this  is  above  it. 
Truth  is  good:  it  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  the  church  of  God  study 
the  Word,  but  what  are  we  if  we  do  not  have  love?  May  the  dear 
church  get  such  a  flood  of  love  from  on  high  that  it  will  fill  all  our 


The  Chicago  Fire  and  its  Results  151 

hearts.  The  last  night  Jesus  was  on  earth,  before  they  crucified  Him, 
He  said  to  His  disciples :  '  This  is  My  commandment,  that  ye  love  one 
another  as  I  have  loved  you.''  Let  us  think  on  these  solemn  words, 
and  may  the  love  of  Christ  draw  us  all  together  so  we  will  be  as  one 
man." 

Enclosed  in  this  church  letter,  Mr.  Moody  wrote  the  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  Erdman : 

"  I  do  hope  you  will  hold  the  people  to  the  thought  of  love.  I  am 
sure  that  is  where  the  churches  have  all  gone  astray.  We  must  have 
it  above  all  things.  See  how  Paul  and  Peter  agreed  in  this.  Let 
us  put  that  first.  If  the  church  is  sound  in  love  I  think  it  will  be 
sound  in  everything  else.  That  God  may  be  with  you  and  bless  you 
in  a  wonderful  manner  is  my  earnest  and  constant  prayer." 


CHAPTER    XVI 
FIRST  EXTENDED  MISSION  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 

SO  great  was  the  interest  at  the  tabernacle  that  the  work  went 
on  unabated  during  Mr.  Moody's  absence  while  working  in 
behalf  of  the  new  building.  Finding,  therefore,  that  he  could 
be  spared  from  Chicago,  and  desiring  to  learn  more  of  the  Bible  from 
English  Bible  students,  Mr.  Moody  determined  to  cross  the  sea  again. 
He  started  for  a  short  trip  in  June,  1872.  This  visit  calls  for  special 
consideration  on  account  of  one  incident  that  undoubtedly  marked 
another  turning  point  in  Mr.  Moody's  career. 

He  was  determined  not  to  get  into  work,  if  he  could  help  it ;  but 
one  day,  at  the  close  of  the  service  in  the  Old  Bailey  prayer-meeting, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Lessey,  pastor  of  a  church  in  the  North  of  Lon- 
don, asked  him  to  preach  for  him  the  next  Sabbath.  Mr.  Moody 
consented. 

The  morning  service  seemed  very  dead  and  cold.  The  people  did 
not  show  much  interest,  and  he  felt  that  it  had  been  a  morning  lost. 
But  at  the  next  service,  which  was  at  half-past  six  in  the  evening,  it 
seemed,  while  he  was  preaching,  as  if  the  very  atmosphere  was 
charged  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  There  came  a  hush  upon  all  the 
people,  and  a  quick  response  to  his  words,  though  he  had  not  been 
much  in  prayer  that  day,  and  could  not  understand  it. 

When  he  had  finished  preaching  he  asked  all  who  would  like  to 
become  Christians  to  rise,  that  he  might  pray  for  them.  People  rose 
all  over  the  house  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  audience  was  getting 
up. 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  153 

Mr.  Moody  said  to  himself: 

"  These  people  don't  understand  me.  They  don't  know  what  I 
mean  when  I  ask  them  to  rise."  He  had  never  seen  such  results 
before,  and  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it,  so  he  put  the  test  again. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  all  of  you  who  want  to  become  Christians  just 
step  into  the  inquiry-room." 

They  went  in,  and  crowded  the  room  so  that  they  had  to  take  in 
extra  chairs  to  seat  them  all.  The  minister  was  surprised,  and  so  was 
Mr.  Moody.  Neither  had  expected  such  a  blessing.  They  had  not 
realized  that  God  can  save  by  hundreds  and  thousands  as  well  as  by 
ones  and  twos. 

When  Mr.  Moody  again  asked  those  that  really  wanted  to  become 
Christians  to  rise,  the  whole  audience  got  up.  He  did  not  even  then 
know  what  to  do,  so  he  told  all  who  were  really  in  earnest  to  meet  the 
pastor  there  the  next  night. 

The  next  day  he  went  over  to  Dublin,  but  on  Tuesday  morning 
received  a  despatch  urging  him  to  return,  saying  there  were  more 
inquirers  on  Monday  than  on  Sunday.  He  went  back  and  held  meet- 
ings for  ten  days,  and  four  hundred  were  taken  into  that  church. 

After  some  time  what  was,  perhaps,  the  secret  of  this  marvellous 
manifestation  of  the  Spirit's  working  was  revealed.  There  were  two 
sisters  belonging  to  that  church.  One  was  strong,  the  other  was  bed- 
ridden. One  day  as  the  sick  woman  was  bemoaning  her  condition 
the  thought  came  to  her  that  she  could  at  least  pray,  and  she  began 
to  pray  God  to  revive  her  church.  Day  and  night  her  prayer  went 
up  to  God. 

One  day  she  read  in  a  paper  an  account  of  some  meetings  Mr. 
Moody  had  held  in  America,  and,  though  she  did  not  know  him,  she 
began  to  pray  that  God  would  send  him  to  her  church.  On  the  Sun- 
day Mr.  Moody  preached,  her  sister  went  home  and  said : 

"  Whom  do  you  think  preached  this  morning?  " 

She  suggested  the  names  of  several  with  whom  her  pastor  was  in 
the  habit  of  exchanging. 


I54  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Finally  her  sister  told  her,  "  It  was  Mr.  Moody,  from  America." 

"  I  know  what  that  means,"  cried  the  sick  woman;  "  God  has  heard 
my  prayers ! " 

Mr.  Moody  believed  that  it  was  this  revival  that  carried  him  back 
to  England  the  next  year. 

Among  other  meetings  he  attended  the  Mildmay  Conference,  and 
thus  records  his  impression  of  the  Rev.  William  Pennefather,  the 
founder  of  Mildmay : 

"  I  well  remember  sitting  in  yonder  seat  looking  up  at  this  platform 
and  seeing  the  beloved  Mr.  Pennefather's  face  illuminated  as  it  were 
with  Heaven's  light.  I  don't  think  I  can  recall  a  word  that  he  said,  but 
the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  man  breathed  holiness,  and  I  got  then 
a  lift  and  impetus  in  the  Christian  life  that  I  have  never  lost,  and  I 
believe  the  impression  will  remain  with  me  to  my  dying  day.  I  thank 
God  that  I  saw  and  spoke  with  that  holy  man ;  no  one  could  see  him 
without  the  consciousness  that  he  lived  in  the  presence  of  God." 

It  was  the  first  and  last  time  they  ever  met;  but  Mr.  Pennefather 
was  strongly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  Mr.  Moody  was  one 
for  whom  God  had  prepared  a  great  work,  and  after  his  return  to 
America  he  wrote  him,  telling  him  of  the  wide  door  open  for  evangel- 
istic work  in  London  and  elsewhere  and  promising  him  a  warm  wel- 
come if  he  would  ever  come  over  and  help  them.  Other  invitations 
equally  cordial  were  received  about  the  same  time  from  Cuthbert 
Bainbridge,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and  Henry  Bewley,  of  Dublin. 
These  were  accompanied  with  the  promise  of  funds  to  meet  the 
travelling  expenses  of  Mr.  Moody  and  his  party. 

After  arranging  for  the  work  in  which  he  had  been  engaged  in 
Chicago  it  was  decided  to  accept  these  invitations  and  return  to  Eng- 
land for  a  short  visit.  Philip  Phillips,  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Mr. 
Moody,  was  at  this  time  the  leading  gospel  singer  in  America,  and 
Mr.  Moody  at  once  urged  him  to  accompany  him.  This  he  was  not 
able  to  do,  and  P.  P.  Bliss,  whose  reputation  as  a  gospel  solo  singer 
and  composer  had  created  a  demand  for  his  services  on  all  sides,  was 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  155 

then  invited.  He  had  been  associated  with  Mr.  Moody  on  several 
occasions,  and  both  men  were  closely  attached  to  each  other.  But 
in  this  he  was  also  disappointed,  as  it  seemed  impossible  for  Mr.  Bliss 
to  leave  home. 

It  was  Mr.  Moody's  first  idea  to  leave  Mr.  Sankey  in  Chicago  to 
continue  the  work  in  the  mission  church  and  in  the  Association. 
Finally,  however,  he  decided  that  the  British  call  was  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  take  Mr.  Sankey  from  his  work  for  a  few  months  at  least. 

Mr.  Moody  had  at  that  time  about  $450,  which  he  had  loaned  to 
a  friend  to  be  invested  during  his  absence,  as  all  his  expenses  on  the 
mission  were  to  be  met  by  those  who  had  invited  him.  Steamship 
passage  for  Mr.  Moody  and  his  family  and  Mr.  Sankey  had  been 
engaged,  but  the  promised  funds  failed  to  come.  Within  a  day  or 
two  of  the  time  for  departure  Mr.  Moody  had  to  request  the 
return  of  his  loan  to  meet  travelling  expenses.  On  reaching  Liver- 
pool, on  June  17,  1873,  the  cause  for  the  non-receipt  of  the  promised 
funds  was  at  once  apparent.  All  three  of.  the  cordial  and  devoted 
friends  on  whose  invitation  Mr.  Moody  had  depended  for  moral  and 
financial  support  had  been  called  to  be  with  their  Lord. 

After  reading  the  letter  announcing  the  death  of  these  friends,  Mr. 
Moody  turned  to  Mr.  Sankey  and  said :  "  God  seems  to  have  closed 
the  doors.  We  will  not  open  any  ourselves.  If  He  opens  the  door 
we  will  go  in ;  otherwise  we  will  return  to  America." 

On  their  arrival  at  Liverpool  they  went  to  an  hotel,  where  they 
spent  the  evening.  Mr.  Moody  then  discovered  in  one  of  his  pockets 
an  unopened  letter  which  he  had  received,  just  before  leaving  New 
York,  from  Mr.  Bennett,  the  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  at  York,  England.  Mr.  Bennett  said  that  he  had  heard 
of  his  work  in  America  among  young  men,  and  he  hoped  if  he  ever 
came  to  England  he  would  come  there  and  speak  at  the  Association. 

"  This  door  is  only  ajar,"  Mr.  Moody  exclaimed,  "  but  we  will  con- 
sider the  letter  as  God's  hand  leading  to  York,  and  we  will  go  there." 

After  spending  one  night  in  Liverpool  Mr.  Moody,  with  his  family, 


I56  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

took  the  train  for  London,  and  Mr.  Sankey  went  to  Manchester  to 
the  home  of  the  one  man  whom  he  knew  in  England — Henry  Moore- 
house.  On  receiving  Mr.  Moody's  despatch  that  he  was  ready  to 
begin  his  meetings  in  York,  Mr.  Bennett  replied  that  everything  was 
so  cold  and  dead  in  the  town  that  it  would  take  at  least  a  month  to 
prepare  for  the  intended  mission.  The  despatch  concluded  by  asking 
Mr.  Moody  to  name  a  date  when  he  could  consult  him  regarding  the 
proposed  meetings.  With  his  usual  promptness  this  telegram  was 
sent  in  reply  : 

"  I  will  be  in  York  to-night."  At  ten  o'clock  that  evening  he 
reached  the  city,  where  no  one  except  his  friend,  Mr.  Bennett,  had 
ever  seen  him  and  very  few  had  ever  heard  his  name. 

The  situation  was  not  encouraging,  but  after  looking  it  over  care- 
fully Mr.  Moody  declared  that  every  man  must  make  his  own  way  and 
that  he  was  ready  "  to  go  in  at  once."  Mr.  Sankey  was  telegraphed 
for,  and  the  meetings  opened  immediately.  The  next  morning  appli- 
cation was  made  to  several  ministers  of  the  town  for  the  use  of  their 
pulpits  on  the  coming  Sabbath,  and  two  Wesleyan,  a  Baptist,  and  a 
Congregational  church  were  placed  at  their  disposal. 

It  is  interesting  to  look  through  the  files  of  the  religious  papers 
for  the  two  years  that  covered  Mr.  Moody's  campaign  in  Great 
Britain.  In  some  of  the  later  issues  double  numbers  were  published, 
the  extra  pages  being  devoted  entirely  to  articles  concerning  the 
great  meetings.  In  contrast  with  these  extensive  reports  is  the  fol- 
lowing modest  little  notice  in  one  corner  of  "  The  Christian,"  entitled, 
"  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody  in  England  "  : 

"  Mr.  Moody  has  just  arrived  in  England  with  his  family,  and  is 
accompanied  by  a  Christian  brother  who  leads  the  singing  at  his  meet- 
ings, after  the  manner  of  our  well-known  and  much-loved  friend, 
Philip  Phillips.  Mrs.  Moody  and  her  children  remain  with  her  sister 
in  the  neighborhood  of  London  while  her  husband  is  holding  meet- 
ings in  the  provinces.  Last  Lord's  Day  he  preached  in  Independent 
and  Wesleyan  chapels  in  York,  and  we  believe  that  he  intends  to  con- 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  157 

tinue  a  while  in  the  North  of  England  and  then  go  to  Scotland.  He 
prefers  preaching  in  chapels,  and  so  strengthening  existing  causes,  to 
commencing  a  new  work  in  public  halls,  etc.  Any  friends  who  desire 
his  help,  especially  in  the  north,  should  write  to  him  at  once,  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  York.  We  will  notify  change  of  ad- 
dress from  week  to  week,  as  we  receive  it  from  him." 

The  clergy  at  first  were  strongly  inclined  to  look  upon  the  new- 
comers with  suspicion  and  disfavor,  and  the  attendance  was  small  to 
begin  with,  but  gradually  the  meetings  grew  in  interest,  the  clergy 
cooperated,  and  both  preaching  and  singing  became  the  subject  of 
public  conversation  throughout  the  community. 

Mr.  Moody  wrote  from  York,  on  June  3Oth,  to  Mr.  Farwell,  of 
Chicago,  as  follows: 

"  You  will  see  by  the  heading  of  this  note  that  I  am  in  York.  I 
began  here  one  week  ago  yesterday  (Sunday)  and  have  had  splendid 
success  so  far.  Yesterday  we  had  four  meetings.  They  were  large 
and  I  think  very  profitable.  God  was  with  us.  I  preached  in  the 
morning  on  '  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine ' ;  in  the  afternoon  on 
No  difference,'  and  in  the  evening  from  the  text,  '  The  spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me  because  He  has  anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel' 
Sankey  sang  the  hymns  finely;  all  seemed  to  be  much  pleased  with 
him.  I  think  he  is  going  to  do  much  good  here.  All  the  chapels  are 
open  to  us,  and  invitations  are  coming  from  all  over  the  country;  I 
think  we  shall  have  all  we  can  do  here.  I  think  of  you  all  and  get 
fearfully  homesick  at  times. 

"  Keep  me  posted  in  regard  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation building  and  all  about  the  stock.  I  should  like  to  see  a  good 
building  go  up  there.  I  do  not  see  any  better  opportunity  to  work 
for  Christ  than  in  that  field.  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  become  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  England  and  America  if  some- 
thing of  the  kind  is  not  done.  I  send  you  some  flower  seeds.  I  think 
the  one  marked  1-6  is  beautiful,  and  never  have  seen  anything  in 
America  like  it.  I  hope  you  will  have  success  with  them.  Remem- 


158  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

ber  me  to  Wells  and  all  your  own  family.  Yours  thro'  the  Grace  of 
God." 

"  Yes,  I  have  known  Mr.  Moody  ever  since  a  memorable  Monday 
morning  in  1873,"  writes  the  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  who  was  among  the 
first  to  associate  himself  with  the  movement.  "  I  can  see  him  now, 
standing  up  to  lead  the  first  noon  prayer-meeting  in  a  small,  ill-lit 
room  in  Coney  Street,  York,  little  realizing  that  it  was  the  seed-germ 
of  a  mighty  harvest,  and  that  a  movement  was  beginning  that  would 
culminate  in  a  few  months  in  Free  Assembly  Hall,  Edinburgh,  and 
ultimately  in  the  Agricultural  Hall  and  the  Royal  Opera  House, 
London.  It  was  the  birth-time  of  new  conceptions  of  ministry,  new 
methods  of  work,  new  inspirations  and  hopes. 

"  What  an  inspiration  when  this  great  and  noble  soul  first  broke 
into  my  life !  I  was  a  young  pastor  then,  in  the  old  city  of  York,  and 
bound  rather  rigidly  by  the  chains  of  conventionalism.  Such  had 
been  my  training,  and  such  might  have  been  my  career.  But  here 
was  a  revelation  of  a  new  ideal.  The  first  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Moody 's  that  struck  me  was  that  he  was  so  absolutely  unconven- 
tional and  natural.  That  a  piece  of  work  had  generally  been  done 
after  a  certain  method  would  probably  be  the  reason  why  he  would 
set  about  it  in  some  fresh  and  unexpected  way.  That  the  new  method 
startled  people  was  the  greater  reason  for  continuing  with  it,  if  only 
it  drew  them  to  the  Gospel.  But  there  was  never  the  slightest  ap- 
proach to  irreverence,  fanaticism,  or  extravagance ;  everything  was 
in  perfect  accord  with  a  rare  common  sense,  a  directness  of  method, 
a  simplicity  and  transparency  of  aim,  which  were  as  attractive  as  they 
were  fruitful  in  result. 

"  The  first  ten  days  of  his  meetings  were  only  moderately  success- 
ful, and  he  gladly  accepted  my  invitation  to  come  to  the  chapel  where 
I  ministered,  and  there  we  had  a  fortnight  of  mqst  blessed  and 
memorable  meetings.  The  little  vestry  there— how  vividly  I  remem- 
ber it !— was  the  scene  of  our  long  and  earnest  prayers  as  we  knelt 
around  the  leather-covered  table  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  Two 


D.  L.  MOODY,  IN  HIS  FORTY-FIFTH  YEAR. 


DWIGHT  L.  Moony  AT  45.     PORTRAIT  TAKEN  ix  PARIS. 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  161 

Presbyterian  students,  from  Dr.  McKay's  church  in  Hull,  brothers, 
often  used  to  pray  with  us,  and  I  remember  that  Mr.  Moody,  at  the 
great  Free  Trade  Hall,  Manchester,  referred  to  that  little  room  as 
the  fountain  from  which  the  river  of  blessing  for  the  whole  country 
had  sprung. 

"  Many  recollections  of  those  days  come  back  as  I  write :  How  in 
the  midst  of  tea  at  home  Mr.  Moody  suddenly  felt  that  he  should 
preach  his  afterward  famous  sermon  on  Heaven,  and  started  off  on 
a  three  miles'  walk  to  fetch  his  notes ;  how  Mr.  ,Sankey  went  over  to 
see  Mr.  Rees,  of  Sunderland,  the  sailor-preacher,  of  whom  I  had 
spoken  to  them,  and  proved  his  singing  powers  in  the  little  back  par- 
lor of  W.  D.  Longstaff, 'to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  both  minister  and 
elder ;  how  we  had  our  all-day  meeting,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  how  the  fire  of  God  burnt  hot  in  all  our  hearts.  Ah,  blessed 
days !  that  will  live  as  long  as  memory  endures,  days  of  Heaven,  of 
wonder,  of  a  new  and  brilliant  constellation  in  one's  sphere,  of  the 
beginning  of  a  lifelong  devotion  to  another  man,  which  has  only 
ripened  and  deepened  with  every  succeeding  year." 

The  first  public  report  of  the  meetings  in  York  appeared  in  "  The 
Christian  "  for  July  loth,  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bennett,  who  said: 

"  The  following  notes  of  our  brother  D.  L.  Moody's  evangelistic 
labors  in  this  city  will  doubtless  be  welcomed  by  your  readers.  On 
Sunday  morning,  June  22d,  Mr.  Moody  preached  in  Salem  Congrega- 
tional Chapel  to  Christian  workers;  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  Corn 
Exchange,  to  about  a  thousand  persons,  and  in  the  evening  in  Wesley 
Chapel.  Many  were  impressed.  Every  evening  during  the  follow- 
ing week  Bible  lectures  were  delivered  in  various  chapels,  each  service 
resulting  in  the  saving  of  souls,  but  especially  in  the  quickening  of 
believers.  Formality  and  apathy  are  to  a  great  extent  dissipated,  and 
Christians  have  been  led  to  pray  and  work  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners. 

"  During  the  past  week  the  Lord  has  greatly  blessed  us  in  the 
ingathering  of  souls.  On  Sabbath  day,  June  29th,  Mr.  Moody 


1 62  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

preached  in  two  other  chapels,  and  also  twice  in  the  Corn  Exchange, 
to  audiences  numbering  about  a  thousand  each.  Every  week  even- 
ing service  is  preceded  by  a  service  of  song,  conducted  by  Mr. 
Moody's  colaborer,  Mr.  Sankey,  whose  hymns,  tunes,  and  voice 
(like  those  of  Philip  Phillips)  have  drawn  and  impressed  many.  Mr. 
Moody  preaches  the  Gospel  and  Mr.  Sankey  sings  it.  Prayer-meet- 
ings have  been  held  every  noon  at  the  rooms  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  and  many  there  have  offered  themselves  and 
others  for  the  prayers  of  God's  people. 

"  Though  this  is  the  summer  season,  and  we  were  under  a  disad- 
vantage in  consequence  (through  the  miscarriage  of  letters  to  and 
from  Mr.  Moody)  of  not  having  notice,  and,  therefore,  were  unpre- 
pared for  his  visit,  when  Mr.  Moody  dropped  down  on  us  on  the 
Saturday  morning,  arrangements  were  made  and  bills  printed  all  in 
a  few  hours,  and  from  the  first  the  Lord  has  greatly  blessed  our 
brothers'  labors  in  the  strengthening  and  stimulating  of  Christians  and 
in  the  bringing  of  many  out  of  darkness  into  light ;  their  visit  will  long 
be  remembered  in  this  city.  The  congregations  have  from  the  first 
been  increasingly  large ;  all  denominations  have  opened  their  chapels 
and  given  us  their  presence  and  help.  Many  of  the  clergy  have  also 
heartily  bidden  them  '  God-speed.' 

"P.  S.— Sunday  evening,  n  P.M.  Just  before  posting  this,  let 
me  add  that  this  afternoon  a  large  chapel  was  filled  to  hear  Moody ; 
a  deep  impression  was  made.  I  have  just  come  from  the  evening 
service,  where  every  aisle  and  standing  place,  the  vestries  and  lobbies, 
even  the  pulpit  stairs,  were  crowded  nearly  half  an  hour  before  the 
evening  service  commenced.  The  Holy  Spirit  worked  mightily,  sin- 
ners in  all  positions  in  life  sought  the  Lord  earnestly,  and  Christian 
Brothers  and  sisters  of  the  Church  of  England,  Friends,  and  of  every 
denomination,  were  constrained  without  invitation  to  speak  and  pray 
with  them.  I  don't  know  how  many,  but  over  fifty  gave  their  hearts 
to  Christ.  Mr.  Moody  will  (if  the  Lord  will)  proceed  to  Scarborough 
shortly." 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  163 

Writing  again  from  York,  July  I4th,  Mr.  Bennett  said  that  the 
American  evangelists  were  still  there  and  that  every  meeting  during 
the  week  just  passed  had  been  attended  with  great  blessing.  "  One 
distinguishing  feature  of  our  brother's  meetings,"  he  said,  "is  the  Bible 
lectures  which  he  gives  on  such  subjects  as  '  The  Blood  of  Christ,' 
'  Walking  with  God/  etc.  The  passages  of  Scripture  are  previously 
selected  and  read  out  by  friends  in  various  parts  of  the  audience. 
The  chapel  was  crowded  long  before  the  service  last  evening,  and 
many  sought  and  found  the  Saviour.  We  have  had  most  refreshing 
seasons  at  our  noon  prayer-meetings :  we  hope  to  continue  them.  Let 
me  ask  the  Lord's  children  to  pray  that  these  meetings  may  become 
an  institution  in  this  city  and  be  greatly  used  of  God  in  the  binding 
together  of  Christians  of  every  name,  in  the  deepening  of  their 
spiritual  life  and  fervor,  and  in  the  establishment  of  a  great  rallying 
centre  for  organization  and  aggressive  effort." 

Each  public  service  was  followed  by  an  inquiry  meeting,  which  at 
first  was  considered  a  novelty,  but  gradually  became  a  great  power 
in  the  work.  Mr.  Moody's  manner  of  expounding  the  Scripture  at 
once  attracted  attention.  The  Bible  readings,  which  he  had  given 
in  Brooklyn  and  other  cities,  were  continued  with  great  effect. 
Believers  were  aroused  to  a  new  interest  in  the  Sacred  Word.  Bibles 
were  seen  at  every  meeting  and  new  methods  of  Bible  study  were  sug- 
gested. Mr.  Meyer  thinks  that  no  one  has  given  a  greater  impulse 
to  Bible  study  than  Mr.  Moody. 

"  During  the  time  of  his  meetings  in  Great  Britain  the  Bagster 
publishing  house  could  hardly  keep  pace  with  the  demand  for  Bibles 
which  he  created,"  he  says.  "  He  knew  his  Bible  as  very  few  have 
done,  and  was  always  wearing  out  Bibles,  covering  the  margins  with 
references  and  notes,  and  allowing  them  to  pass  freely  among  his 
'  friends.  His  Bible  school  and  the  Chicago  seminary  have  filled  hun- 
dreds of  young  minds  with  the  same  enthusiasm.  In  my  earliest 
acquaintance  with  him  I  remember  how  eager  he  was  that  I  should 
tell  him  any  new  thing  I  had  discovered  in  the  Word  of  God.  How 


164  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

interested  he  was,  for  instance,  when  I  said  that,  the  use  of  the  article 
in  Acts,  i.  indicated  that  the  scene  of  Pentecost  was  the  same  upper 
room  where  the  Apostles  had  prepared  the  Passover !  " 

The  first  all-day  meeting  which  Mr.  Moody  held  in  England  was 
arranged  by  Mr.  Meyer  and  himself  as  they  walked  up  and  down 
Coney  Street,  York.  It  began  at  eleven  A.M.  and  lasted  six  hours, 
and  an  evening  service  followed.  From  its  novelty  it  attracted  great 
attention,  and  it  commended  itself  heartily  to  all  who  attended  the  ser- 
vices. First,  there  was  an  hour  for  confession  and  prayer ;  second, 
an  hour  for  praise ;  third,  a  promise  meeting,  which  consisted  of  tes- 
timonies on  the  part  of  believers  to  the  fulfilment  of  promises  in  their 
own  experiences ;  fourth,  a  witness  meeting,  which  was  a  succession 
of  public  confession  of  Christ  by  young  converts ;  fifth,  a  Bible  lecture 
by  Mr.  Moody,  and,  finally,  a  communion  service  conducted  by  Mr. 
Moody  and  four  ministers. 

After  five  weeks  of  meetings  in  York,  resulting  in  the  professed 
conversion  of  several  hundred  people,  Mr.  Moody  went  to  Sunder- 
land.  Here  the  meetings  were  even  more  largely  attended.  The 
chapel  in  which  the  services  were  held  soon  became  too  small  for  the 
audience,  finally  necessitating  the  use  of  one  of  the  largest  halls  in 
the  North  of  England. 

Mr.  Rees,  who  invited  Mr.  Moody  to  Sunderland,  was  an  open- 
communion  Baptist,  the  pastor  of  the  Bethesda  Chapel,  where  the 
inquiry  meetings  were  held  after  the  first  meeting  in  the  Victoria 
Hall.  The  week-day  meetings  were  held  in  such  chapels  as  could  be 
secured,  for  there  was  more  or  less  criticism  to  be  overcome.  It  was 
said  that  there  was  only  one  minister  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the 
revival  movement;  all  the  other  clergymen  were  half-hearted  or  even 
active  in  opposition. 

During  the  Sunderland  mission  a  committee  from  the  Young- 
Men's  Christian  Association  called  upon  Mr.  Moody  and  asked  him 
to  speak  before  the  young  men.  The  invitation  was  readily  accepted. 
The  committee  then  apologized  for  not  joining  earlier  in  the  work, 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  165 

explaining  that  their  delay  was  not  due  to  lack  of  sympathy,  but  to 
the  fear  that  the  Association  would  be  injured  if  its  officers  seemed 
to  favor  a  sectarian  work.  When  they  came  to  a  better  acquaintance 
with  him  they  were  frank  to  acknowledge  how  little  they  knew  at 
that  time  of  the  spirit  of  the  preacher. 

In  Sunderland,  as  in  York,  special  stress  was  laid  upon  the  noon 
prayer-meeting  and  upon  the  afternoon  meetings.  Here,  also,  an- 
all-day  meeting  was  held.  It  is  interesting  to  read  the  impression 
which  Mr.  Rees  had  after  working  for  a  month  with  Mr.  Moody  and 
Mr.  Sankey: 

"  i.  Both  these  brethren  are  genuine  to  the  backbone. 

"  2.  They  are  as  disinterested  as  they  are  zealous,  and  their  zeal  is 
extraordinary. 

"  3.  Mr.  Moody  is  the  '  Mercurius  '  of  the  pair.  Mr.  Sankey  is 
not  the  '  Jupiter/  but  the  '  Orpheus.'  The  former  is  not  eloquent, 
but  very  fluent ;  not  poetical  or  rhetorical,  but  he  never  talks  twaddle 
and  seldom  utters  a  sentence  that  is  not  well  worth  hearing.  He  is 
a  rapid,  too  rapid  a  speaker;  nevertheless,  what  he  does  say  is  sensible, 
forcible,  and  to  the  point  and  not  too  long,  which  is  a  great  advantage. 
He  is  American  to  the  core,  in  speech,  intonation,  and  vigor.  His 
anecdotes  are  superabundant  and,  for  the  most  part,  the  acquisition 
of  his  own  experience ;  they  are  always  apt,  often  most  pathetic,  and 
sometimes  appalling.  His  earnestness  is  intense,  his  energy  untiring, 
his  courage  leonine,  his  tact  uncommon,  and  his  love  for  souls  most 
tender." 

After  the  Sunderland  mission  Mr.  Moody  began  a  new  work  in 
Newcastle-on-Tyne.  He  had  now  gained  the  sympathy  of  nearly 
all  the  ministers  of  the  several  denominations,  except  those  of  the 
Established  Church,  who,  learning  that  he  was  not  ordained,  refused 
in  any  way  to  countenance  the  work. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  very  successful  meetings  the  editor  of  "  The 
Newcastle  Chronicle,"  a  Mr.  Cowen,  then  a  member  of  Parliament 
for  that  district,  described  the  meetings  in  his  paper,  speaking  of 


1 66  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

them  as  a  "  wonderful  religious  phenomenon."  On  the  whole  it  was 
a  friendly  review  and  criticism  of  the  work.  This  was  an  unusual 
notice  for  such  a  prominent  secular  paper,  and  Mr.  Cowen's  article 
created  a  profound  impression  throughout  England,  resulting  in 
invitations  to  hold  services  in  other  cities. 

Mr.  Moody  had  been  slowly  overcoming  the  prejudice  against  his 
preaching  and  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  at  York  and  Sunderland,  but 
when  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  visit  Newcastle,  the  home  of  the 
Mr.  Bainbridge  at  whose  invitation  partly  he  was  in  England,  he  did 
so  with  the  determination  to  stay  there  long  enough  to  settle  for  all 
time  the  questions  which  had  arisen  as  to  their  methods  and  motives. 
He  knew  that  he  could  accomplish  nothing  among  the  people  until 
he  had  their  confidence,  and  this  would  be  won  most  easily  when 
he  had  the  cooperation  of  the  clergymen.  "  On  this  line  and 
in  this  place  if  it  takes  all  summer,"  was  his  spirit,  if  not  his 
motto. 

The  meetings  were  held  in  the  Rye  Hill  Baptist  Chapel,  seating 
some  sixteen  hundred  people,  and  while  they  were  not  large  at  first, 
they  increased  rapidly. 

"  Mr.  Moody  preaches,"  wrote  a  friendly  critic  at  the  time,  "  but 
the  conventional  use  of  the  word  '  preaching  '  does  not  convey  any 
notion  of  Mr.  Moody's  talk.  He  is  a  business  man  and  he  means 
business;  every  word  he  speaks  is  meant  to  lead  to  a  definite  business; 
if  it  does  not  do  that,  he  regards  it  as  thrown  away.  Most  people 
believe  that  there  is  a  life  beyond  the  grave  and  that  there  is  some 
way  of  salvation  and  some  way  of  being  lost  forever;  and  this  is  rather 
important  business  after  all.  Mr.  Moody  goes  into  the  heart  of  this 
matter  at  once  and  he  puts  it  in  a  business  way.  He  says  he  himself 
has  salvation,  in  fact  is  saved  forever  by  the  Son  of  God,  and  that 
every  soul  that  wants  it  may  have  it  too,  at  once,  and  know  it,  and  go 
home  with  it,  and  be  as  happy  as  he  likes.  A  good  many,  if  not  all, 
of  the  really  earnest  ministers  of  all  denominations  indorse,  as  per- 
fectly true,  what  he  says,  although  it  is  put  in  a  new  way.  But  better 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  167 

than  all,  he  takes  his  stand  by  the  Bible  and  proves  it.  I  think  this 
ought  to  be  more  widely  known." 

Here  at  Newcastle  the  same  increasing  interest  that  had  been 
experienced  at  Sunderland  attended  the  mission.  The  meetings  were 
transferred  from  a  church  to  the  Music  Hall,  and  there  Mr.  Moody 
and  his  friend,  Henry  Moorehouse,  who  had  joined  him,  preached  to 
the  great  congregations  which  gathered  there.  Educated  people 
were  among  the  first  converts ;  those  who  had  known  the  Scriptures 
from  childhood  decided  definitely  for  a  religious  life;  and  the  work 
thus  started  went  down  through  all  classes  of  society,  and  influenced 
the  surrounding  towns. 

The  inquiry-room  work  was  thorough,  every  inquirer  being  known 
by  name  and  residence.  As  rapidly  as  possible  ministers  and  experi- 
enced Christian  workers  only  were  allowed  to  have  a  hand  in  this 
important  part  of  the  meetings,  and  they  were  admitted  by  ticket. 

When  an  all-day  meeting  was  announced  to  be  held  at  Newcastle 
on  November  I2th,  many  anticipated  failure,  but  those  who  had  felt 
the  reviving  power  and  the  love  of  God  and  had  made  this  meeting 
a  matter  of  earnest  prayer  knew  that  it  could  not  fail.  Not  only  did 
the  people  from  Newcastle  attend  in  large  numbers,  but  visitors  from 
Sunderland,  Shields,  Jarrow,  and  neighboring  towns  came  in  by  train 
and  filled  the  church  and  galleries.  Business,  home  cares  and  work, 
pleasure  and  idleness  had  been  left  behind  by  the  hundreds  of  earnest 
Christians  who  came  to  worship  God  and  to  hear  His  Word. 

An  hour  was  given  to  prayer  and  Bible  reading,  and  a  second 
hour  to  promises,  Mr.  Moody  leading  during  this  part  of  the  service. 
Another  hour  was  set  apart  for  experience  and  exhortation,  which 
was  followed  by  an  address  by  Mr.  Moorehouse  on  "  Separation." 
The  sixth  and  last  hour  was  devoted  to  a  sermon  on  "  Heaven," 
preached  by  Mr.  Moody.  In  the  evening  a  gospel  service  was  held, 
Moody  and  Moorehouse  speaking.  The  chapel  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing. 

After  this  all-day  meeting  the  work  seemed  to  grow  steadily.     Mr. 


1 68  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Moorehouse  speaks  in  this  connection  of  four  things  which  he  had 
observed  "  about  dear  Moody's  work,"  as  he  called  it : 

"  i.  He  believes  firmly  that  the  Gospel  saves  sinners  when  they 
believe,  and  he  rests  on  the  simple  story  of  a  crucified  and  risen 
Saviour. 

"  2.  He  expects,  when  he  goes  to  preach,  that  souls  will  be  saved, 
and  the  result  is  that  God  honors  his  faith. 

"  3.  He  preaches  as  if  there  never  was  to  be  another  meeting,  and 
as  if  sinners  might  never  hear  the  Gospel  sound  again :  these  appeals 
to  decide  now  are  most  impressive. 

"  4.  He  gets  Christians  to  work  in  the  after-meetings.  He  urges 
them  to  ask  those  who  are  sitting  near  them  if  they  are  saved.  Every- 
thing about  their  work  is  very  simple,  and  I  would  advise  the  workers 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard  to  see  and  hear  our  beloved  brothers,  and,  if 
possible,  learn  some  blessed  lessons  from  them  in  soul-winning." 

At  one  of  the  inquiry  meetings  at  Newcastle  Mr.  Moody  had  an 
interview,  which  he  often  related  in  later  years,  as  illustrating  the  need 
of  confession  and  restitution. 

The  inquirer  complained  that  every  time  she  began  to  pray,  five 
bottles  of  wine  came  up  before  her  mind,  which  she  had  stolen  when 
serving  as  housekeeper  for  a  gentleman.  She  had  never  been  able 
to  pray  since.  In  reply  to  her  request  for  advice  Mr.  Moody  said 
without  hesitating,  "  Pay  for  them." 

"  But  the  person  is  dead,"  she  said. 

"  Are  not  some  of  the  heirs  living?  " 

"  Yes;  a  son." 

"  Then  go  to  that  son  and  pay  him  back." 

"  I  want  to  see  the  face  of  God,"  she  said,  "  but  I  could  not  think 
of  doing  a  thing  like  that.  My  reputation  is  at  stake." 

She  went  away,  and  came  back  the  next  day  to  ask  if  it  would  not 
do  just  as  well  to  put  that  money  in  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

"  No,"  was  the  reply,  "  God  doesn't  want  any  stolen  money.  The 
only  thing  is  to  make  restitution." 


First  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  169 

For  several  days  she  struggled  with  her  pride,  but  finally  went  into 
the  country,  saw  the  son  of  her  former  employer,  made  a  full  con- 
fession, and  offered  him  a  five-pound  note.  He  said  he  didn't  want 
the  money,  but  she  finally  persuaded  him  to  take  it,  and  came  back 
at  peace  with  God  and  the  world. 


CHAPTER    XVII 
BIRTH  OF  THE  "  MOODY  AND  SANKEY  HYMN-BOOK  " 

NEWCASTLE  was  the  birthplace  of  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey 
Hymn-book,"  for  it  was  during  this  mission  that  the  demand 
for  its  publication  first  became  urgent.  The  hymns  and 
tunes  used  in  the  British  churches  and  chapels  were  not  adapted  to 
evangelistic  services,  and  neither  Mr.  Moody  nor  Mr.  Sankey  wras 
familiar  with  the  books  in  use.  They  therefore  adopted  for  use  in 
their  meetings  Philip  Phillips'  book,  "  Hallowed  Songs,"  containing 
many  American  hymns  and  a  few  English  tunes.  Mr.  Sankey 
used  such  hymns  from  his  private  collections  as  he  had  been  sing- 
ing in  Chicago  and  elsewhere,  and  which  were  not  contained  in  this 
book. 

Some  of  these  became  very  popular,  and  in  a  short  time  frequent 
requests  were  made  for  their  publication.  With  the  view  of  meeting 
the  many  inquiries  as  to  where  the  hymns  could  be  procured,  Mr. 
Sankey  wrote  to  the  publishers  of  the  book  they  had  adopted,  offering 
to  supply  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  songs  he  was  singing,  provided  they 
would  print  them  in  the  back  of  their  own  book.  This  offer  was  not 
accepted,  and  when  urged  again  later  it  was  definitely  declined.  As 
the  requests  for  the  publication  of  the  hymns  continued,  Mr.  Moody 
determined  to  publish  the  hymns  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  ar- 
ranged with  Messrs.  Morgan  and  Scott  to  issue  a  pamphlet  of  six- 
teen pages,  personally  guaranteeing  the  cost  of  the  plates.  This  col- 
lection of  hymns  was  known  as  "  Sacred  Songs  and  Solos,"  and  sold 
in  large  quantities  at  sixpence  a  copy.  For  several  months  it  was  used 


Birth  of  the  "Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book"        171 

in  the  services  as  a  solo-book,  in  connection  with  the  larger  book 
originally  adopted. 

From  time  to  time  additions  of  new  songs  were  made  to  the  smaller 
collection,  and  several  months  later  a  small  book  of  "  words  only  " 
was  published  and  sold  for  one  penny  (two  cents)  per  copy,  after 
which  the  larger  hymn-book  first  adopted  was  discontinued. 

Mr.  Moody's  faith  in  the  power  of  sacred  song  was  fully  rewarded, 
for  he  lived  to  see  these  songs  make  their  way  into  the  hearts  of 
millions  of  people,  and  afford  the  means  of  establishing  and  maintain- 
ing churches,  Christian  Associations,  educational  institutions,  and 
Biblical  schools. 

The  first  advertisement  of  "  Sacred  Songs  and  Solos  "  appeared 
in  "The  Christian"  of  September  18,  1873,  which  gave  it  a  much 
wider  circulation  than  would  have  been  possible  through  its  use  in  the 
meetings  alone,  and  it  soon  found  its  way  into  all  parts  of  the  British 
Empire  and  later  on  into  every  Christian  land.  The  copyright  of  the 
book  was  not  taken  out  by  Mr.  Moody  or  Mr.  Sankey,  but  by  the 
publishers. 

On  reaching  Ireland  it  was  rumored  that  Mr.  Moody  was  growing 
rich  by  the  royalties  from  the  hymn-books.  This  he  publicly  denied, 
together  with  other  reports  of  a  like  character  to  the  effect  that  P.  T. 
Barnum,  the  great  showman,  was  behind  the  whole  movement.  On 
the  occasion  of  the  visit  to  London,  preparatory  to  their  great 
meetings  held  there,  Mr.  Moody  stated  in  a  large  public  meeting  of 
ministers  and  others  that  the  royalties  from  the  hymn-book,  then  in 
the  hands  of  the  publishers,  together  with  what  might  afterward 
accrue,  would  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  well-known 
business  men,  of  which  Mr.  Hugh  M.  Matheson,  of  London,  was 
chairman,  which  committee  would  dispose  of  the  royalties  as  they 
saw  fit. 

At  the  close  of  the  London  campaign  and  shortly  before  Moody 
and  Sankey  returned  to  America,  the  statement  of  Morgan  and  Scott, 
the  publishers  of  the  hymn-book,  showed  that  the  sum  standing  to 


1 72  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  credit  of  the  evangelists  was  about  £7,000  ($35>ooo).  Word  was 
sent  to  the  committee  that  this  amount  was  at  their  disposal,  to  be 
used  as  they  might  elect.  The  committee  refused  to  dispose  of  the 
fund  for  general  purposes,  asserting  that  they  did  not  propose  to  have 
Mr.  Moody  pay  this  large  sum  for  the  privilege  of  preaching  in 
London. 

Mr.  Moody's  church  in  Chicago  had  been  only  partially  rebuilt 
after  the  fire,  for,  owing  to  the  panic  which  followed  in  1873-74,  a 
good  portion  of  the  pledges  made  for  its  erection  had  grown  worth- 
less, and  the  work  stopped  with  the  completion  of  the  first  story  only. 
A  temporary  roof  had  been  placed  over  this,  however,  and  services 
had  been  held  here  while  Mr.  Moody  was  abroad.  A  friend  from 
Chicago,  who  was  interested  in  the  church,  was  in  London  at  this 
time,  and  hearing  that  there  was  no  one  who  would  take  the  hymn- 
book  money,  he  suggested  to  the  committee  that  it  be  forwarded  to 
Chicago  to  complete  that  building.  This  suggestion  was  adopted, 
the  money  paid  over,  and  the  splendid  edifice  at  Chicago  Avenue  and 
La  Salle  Street,  which  has  been  a  centre  of  spiritual  activity  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years,  was  completed  and  dedicated  free  of 
debt. 

While  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  were  abroad  P.  P.  Bliss,  who 
was  then  associated  with  Major  D.  W.  Whittle  in  evangelistic  work, 
brought  out  for  use  in  their  meetings  a  small  volume  of  hymns  and 
tunes  under  the  title  of  "  Gospel  Songs,"  mostly  of  Mr.  Bliss's  com- 
position. When  Mr.  Moody  returned  to  America  in  August,  1875, 
it  became  necessary  to  arrange  for  the  publication  of  a  new  collection 
of  hymns,  composed  largely  of  those  which  had  been  in  use  abroad. 
It  was  decided  to  unite  in  making  the  book,  and  after  some  discussion 
as  to  a  name,  the  title  "  Gospel  Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs  "  was 
adopted. 

The  first  book  became  very  popular,  and  a  large  number  was  sold 
during  the  great  meetings  held  in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Chicago, 
and  Boston.  Since  Mr.  Bliss,  Mr.  Sankey,  Mr.  McGranahan,  Mr. 


Birth  of  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book "        173 

Stebbins,  and  others  continued  writing  new  hymns  and  tunes  as  Mr. 
Moody's  work  went  on,  it  was  natural  that  there  should  be  subsequent 
compilations,  and  "  Gospel  Hymns,"  No.  I,  was  followed  by  Nos.  2, 
3,  4,  5,  and  6. 

The  royalties  from  these  books  were  at  first  paid  over  to  a  com- 
mittee of  prominent  business  men  of  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  New 
York,  of  which  William  E.  Dodge,  of  the  last-named  city,  was  chair- 
man, and  were  distributed  by  them  for  the  benefit  of  religious,  philan- 
thropic, and  educational  purposes  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States. 
At  Northfield,  East  Hall,  a  dormitory  of  the  young  ladies'  seminary, 
and  Stone  Hall,  a  recitation  hall  of  the  same  institution,  together  with 
Recitation  Hall  at  Mount  Hermon,  were  erected  from  this  fund.  At 
the  present  time  all  royalties  are  paid  directly  to  the  trustees  of  the 
schools  of  Northfield  and  Mount  Hermon. 

The  following  statement  from  Mr.  Dodge,  chairman  of  the  Ameri- 
can trustees,  is  of  special  interest  in  this  connection : 

"  Mr.  Moody  was  greatly  pained  when  in  Great  Britain  to  find  that 
those  who  were  opposed  to  the  new  religious  life  had  circulated  re- 
ports that  large  sums  of  money  were  made  from  royalties  on  the 
hymn-book,  and  that  the  meetings  were  really  carried  on  for  the  pur- 
pose of  selling  it,  thus  increasing  the  income  of  those  conducting 
them. 

"  On  his  return  to  America,  and  before  visiting  the  great  cities  of 
the  country,  he  felt  the  need  of  a  book  of  hymns  and  tunes  adapted 
to  his  use  here,  and  determined  to  arrange  its  publication  so  as  to 
avoid  all  possible  criticism. 

"  He  invited  me  to  visit  Northfield  to  confer  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject, which  he  felt  to  be  of  great  importance.  I  met  there  Mr.  Sankey 
and  Mr.  Bliss,  and  found  a  most  delightful  and  unusual  spirit  of 
Christian  self-sacrifice  on  their  part.  They  were  willing  to  contribute 
their  own  hymns  and  tunes  and  the  copyrights  which  they  held,  and 
joined  with  Mr.  Moody  in  giving  up  all  possible  claim  to  any  benefits 
which  might  arise  from  their  publication. 


1 74  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Mr.  Moody  urged  me  to  act  as  trustee,  to  arrange  with  the  pub- 
lishers for  a  royalty,  and  to  receive  any  money  which  might  come 
from  this  source  and  distribute  it  at  my  discretion  for  religious  and 
benevolent  purposes.  I  declined  to  act  alone,  but  promised  Mr. 
Moody  that  if  two  other  gentlemen  were  selected  I  would  gladly  serve 
with  them,  and  suggested  the  names  of  George  H.  Stuart,  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  John  V.  Farwell,  of  Chicago;  a  board  of  trustees  was 
thus  formed. 

"  The  sale  of  the  first  editions  of  the  books  greatly  exceeded  our 
expectations,  and,  although  the  royalty  was,  on  a  single  copy,  small, 
as  trustees  we  received  up  to  September,  1885,  the  large  sum  of  $357,- 
388.64.  All  of  this  was  carefully  distributed  among  various  religious 
and  educational  institutions.  It  was  finally  determined  to  be  wise 
and  right  that  as  the  schools  at  Northfield  had  become  so  firmly 
established,  and  were  doing  such  great  good,  the  entire  royalties  of 
these  books  should  be  turned  over  to  the  trustees  of  these  schools, 
and  this  was  accordingly  done  under  careful  legal  advice. 

"  During  all  these  years  neither  Mr.  Moody  nor  Mr.  Sankey  had 
any  fixed  income.  Mr.  Sankey,  especially,  had  given  up  copyrights 
that  would  have  brought  him  in  a  large  sum  yearly  and  opportunities 
to  hold  musical  institutes  and  conventions  which  would  have  added 
largely  to  his  income.  Neither  of  them  during  the  whole  continu- 
ance of  the  trust  received  one  dollar  of  personal  advantage,  and  as 
they  had  no  definite  means  of  support  the  self-sacrifice  and  the 
unselfishness  of  this  course,  in  order  to  prevent  the  slightest  breath  of 
scandal  and  not  weaken  the  influence  of  their  personal  work,  were  very 
remarkable  and  very  beautiful.  I  have  never  known  anything  like  it. 

"  In  closing  the  trust,  which  was  a  peculiar  one,  after  getting  full 
legal  advice,  I  submitted  the  opinions  to  a  lawyer  of  very  high  national 
reputation— the  leader  of  the  bar  in  New  York  in  all  matters  of  con- 
sultation. He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  form  of  the  trust,  though 
he  had  but  little  sympathy  with  the  religious  work.  He  gave  a  large 
amount  of  time  and  thought  to  the  matter,  and  after  giving  his  opinion 


Birth  of  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  "         1 75 

I  asked  him  to  be  kind  enough  to  send  me  a  memorandum,  so  that  I 
could  personally  send  him  a  check,  which  I  supposed  would  neces- 
sarily be  a  large  one.  He  told  me  that  under  no  possible  circum- 
stance would  he  accept  a  cent;  that  the  unselfishness  and  splendid 
quality  of  men  who  could  make  such  a  sacrifice  was  a  revelation  of 
human  nature  that  made  him  feel  better  disposed  toward  man- 
kind. 

"  I  have  ventured  to  go  into  this  matter  somewhat  at  length,  be- 
cause while  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  have  not  received  a  cent  of 
personal  benefit  from  the  royalties  on  the  hymn-books,  unkind  and 
ignorant  assertions  have  been  made  to  the  contrary  in  some  quarters." 

In  the  later  editions  of  "  Gospel  Songs  "  the  services  of  George 
C.  Stebbins  and  James  McGranahan  should  receive  special  men- 
tion. Both  these  gentlemen  were  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Moody 
in  his  evangelistic  work  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  and  were 
prominent  in  the  Northfield  conventions  and  Bible  schools. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Moody  began  in  1871,"  writes  Mr. 
Stebbins.  "  I  used  to  see  him  in  the  noon  meetings  in  Chicago, 
where  I  occasionally  went  to  help  in  the  singing,  but  it  was  not  till  the 
summer  of  1876  that  I  came  more  directly  in  touch  with  him.  In 
August  of  that  year,  at  the  request  of  Major  Whittle,  whom  I  met  in 
Boston,  I  went  up  to  Northfield  to  spend  a  Sunday  with  him  and  Mr. 
Moody,  to  assist  them  in  some  services  that  had  been  arranged  for 
that  day.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  Mr.  Moody  since  the 
night  he  left  Chicago  for  his  work  in  Great  Britain,  which  was 
destined  so  soon  to  make  him  known  throughout  the  Christian  world. 
And  yet,  though  he  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  and  conceded 
to  be  one  of  the  great  religious  characters  of  his  time,  he  was  still  the 
same  unassuming  and  unaffected  man  that  he  was  before  his  work  had 
brought  him  into  such  prominence  before  the  world. 

"  He  was  spending  the  summer  at  his  home,  ostensibly  for  rest,  as 
he  had  just  concluded  his  great  campaigns  in  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
and  Philadelphia,  but  even  then  he  could  not  keep  still;  he  was 


1 76  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

preaching  two  or  three  times  every  Sunday  in  some  of  the  smaller 
towns  or  cities  among  the  New  England  hills,  and  during  his  days  at 
home  he  was  always  trying  to  interest  the  neighbors  and  the  country 
people  in  something  besides  their  daily  round  of  toil,  always  having 
their  spiritual  welfare  at  heart.  I  remember  very  well  an  instance  of 
this: 

"  During  the  few  days  that  I  was  visiting  him  he  drove  about  the 
country  and  invited  the  people  to  his  house  to  hear  some  music.  The 
day  set  was  very  hot  and  sultry,  but  the  people  crowded  the  rooms  to 
suffocation,  and  he,  taking  a  place  by  an  open  window  in  full  view 
of  the  audience  and  the  performer,  gave  directions  as  to  what  should 
be  sung,  occasionally  making  some  encouraging  or  humorous  remark 
to  keep  up  the  interest.  Any  one  with  such  a  keen  sense  of  humor 
as  his  must  have  been  much  amused  to  see  the  singer  sweltering  in  the 
heat  while  doing  his  best  for  an  hour  or  more  to  entertain  the  guests. 

"  During  that  visit  Mr.  Moody  induced  me  to  enter  evangelistic 
work,  and  my  connection  with  him  and  Mr.  Sankey  dates  from  that 
time.  My  first  work  was  to  organize  and  drill  the  choir  of  eight 
hundred  singers  for  his- great  tabernacle  work  in  Chicago,  which 
began  in  October  of  that  year  and  continued  till  the  end  of  December. 

"  During  the  years  that  have  followed  it  has  been  the  privilege  of 
Mrs.  Stebbins  and  myself  to  be  associated  with  Mr.  Moody  in  several 
of  his  great  campaigns,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  all  of  which  have 
been  memorable  as  indicating  the  extraordinary  hold  he  had  on  the 
affections  of  the  people  of  all  classes. 

"  Mr.  Moody  not  only  loved  nature,  but  art  and  poetry  also,  and  the 
latter  more  especially  as  it  was  found  in  the  poetical  books  of  the 
Bible.  He  would  sometimes  ask  for  a  chapter,  and  after  listening 
intently  to  its  close  he  would  break  the  spell  by  saying,  '  Beautiful ! ' 
then  drop  on  his  knees  and  pour  out  his  heart  to  God  in  thanksgiving 
and  prayer. 

"  His  thoughtfulness  for  others,  especially  for  those  working  with 
him,  was  very  marked.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  him,  at  the  close  of 


Birth  of  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  "        1 79 

a  hard  day's  work,  to  say,  just  before  he  began  his  last  address,  '  You 
slip  out  and  go  home.  I'll  get  on.  I  want  you  to  be  fresh  for  to- 
morrow.' 

"  In  this  connection  I  might  speak  of  another  trait  of  his  that  may 
not  be  generally  known;  that  is,  his  disposition  to  make  others  as  little 
trouble  as  possible  on  his  account.  I  have  known  him  to  put  up 
with  annoying  things,  and  positively  suffer  discomforts  rather  than 
inconvenience  others  or  indulge  in  faultfinding. 

"  Some  interesting  illustrations  of  his  conscientiousness  in  regard 
to  accepting  compensation  for  his  services  in  evangelistic  work  came 
under  my  notice  while  spending  a  winter  with  him  in  the  West.  We 
had  held  a  mission  in  one  of  the  large  cities  for  five  weeks,  having 
three  meetings  a  day.  At  the  close  a  representative  of  the  finance 
committee  came  to  his  hotel  and  handed  him  a  check  for  $1,500  for 
himself  and  his  assistant.  He  immediately  handed  it  back,  saying 
that  it  was  too  much.  A  day  or  so  afterward  the  gentleman  went 
again  to  the  hotel,  and  not  seeing  Mr.  Moody,  left  the  same  check  for 
him.  Finding  it  awaiting  him  on  his  return,  he  took  it  back  to  the 
gentleman,  who,  in  telling  me  about  it  afterward,  stated  that  Mr. 
Moody  told  him  in  very  plain  terms  that  he  meant  what  he  said  when 
he  first  returned  the  check,  and  he  would  not  accept  it.  A  thousand 
dollars  was  afterward  given  him:  this  he  accepted.  This  decision 
was  made  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  he  had  then  well  under  way 
plans  for  establishing  the  Bible  Institute  in  Chicago,  and  also  that  he 
needed  money  all  the  time  to  carry  on  his  schools  at  Northfield. 
Immediately  after  this  a  ten  days'  series  of  meetings  was  begun  in  a 
city  near  by,  at  the  close  of  which  the  committee  handed  him  $500, 
which  he  accepted,  but  at  the  last  meeting,  when  a  collection  was 
taken  up  to  pay  off  the  debt  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, he  contributed  the  whole  amount  that  had  been  given  him  for  his 
services. 

"  The  last  time  we  heard  Mr.  Moody  preach  was  at  the  church  in 
Northfield  in  September,  1899,  the  first  Sabbath  after  the  opening  of 


!8o  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  seminary.  There  were  no  flowers  in  the  church,  and  he  remarked 
upon  it,  saying  that  he  wished  the  senior  class  of  the  seminary  to  act 
as  a  committee  to  see  that  there  were  flowers  every  Sunday.  He  then 
said,  '  I  preached  in  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn,  last  Sunday  and 
there  were  no  flowers.  One  of  the  papers  said  the  next  day  that  the 
usual  flowers  were  omitted  from  the  pulpit  because  it  was  understood 
Mr.  Moody  did  not  like  flowers.'  Turning  to  me,  he  said,  '  Stebbins, 
you  tell  them  when  you  go  back  to  Brooklyn  how  I  love  flowers.'  " 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McGranahan  were  associated  in  evangelistic  work 
with  Major  Whittle,  but  frequently  assisted  Mr.  Moody  in  his  conven- 
tions, at  his  meetings,  and  at  his  schools,  and  were  often  in  his  home. 
"  No  one  could  know  him  without  loving  him,"  says  Mr.  McGrana- 
han,  "  nor  be  with  him  without  being  benefited.  Once  in  a  Western 
city  some  twenty  years  ago  a  number  of  people  had  gathered  in  his 
room  and  were  discussing  some  knotty  question  with  a  good  deal  of 
warmth  and  earnestness.  Conflicting  opinions  were  freely  and  em- 
phatically expressed.  Mr.  Moody  looked  on,  a  silent  spectator. 
When  all  had  gone  I  shall  never  forget  his  remark  nor  the  spirit  it 
revealed : '  Mac,  the  world  is  in  great  need  of  peace-makers.'  I  trust 
I  may  never  lose  the  desire  I  then  felt  to  be  among  that  number. 

"  Untiring  in  his  own  labors,  his  consideration  for  others  was  as 
tender  as  a  father's.  When  we  were  holding  a  series  of  meetings  at 
Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Mr.  Moody  came  during  the  closing  week  to  conduct 
a  convention.  I  found  it  difficult  to  continue  to  lead  the  singing  and 
do  the  solo  work  that  was  expected ;  but  as  I  had  often  done  before,  I 
decided  to  stand  by  the  choir  until  I  could  do  no  more.  Mr. 
Moody  said,  '  No,  it  is  not  required  of  you  to  attempt  what  you  are 
not  able  to  do.  Your  voice  is  of  too  much  importance  to  injure 
knowingly.  We  do  not  serve  a  hard  Master.  When  health  is  at 
stake  and  matters  beyond  our  control  interfere,  our  duty  is  plain. 
Go  at  once  and  leave  the  convention  with  the  major  and  me.  Care 
for  your  voice,  and  have  it  for  use  as  long  as  you  live.' 

"  Mr.  Moody  has  always  been  an  inspiration  to  me  in  preparing 


Birth  of  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  "         1 8 1 

hymns  for  gospel  work;  not  that  he  was  a  musician  or  claimed  to  be, 
but  I  soon  learned  to  prize  his  judgment  as  to  the  value  and  usefulness 
of  a  hymn  for  our  work.  What  moved  him  was  sure  to  move  others, 
and  what  failed  to  do  so  could  be  safely  omitted.  I  have  esteemed 
it  one  of  my  highest  privileges  to  share  in  preparing  songs  for  his 
work,  and,  now  that  he  has  gone,  how  lonely  it  seems !  " 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
THE  AWAKENING  IN  EDINBURGH 

THE  success  of  the  American  evangelists  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land led  to  an  investigation  of  their  methods,  and  after  some 
hesitation  they  were  invited  to  Edinburgh,  and  held  their 
first  service  in  the  Music  Hall,  the  largest  in  the  city,  on  Sunday, 
November  23,  1873.  Mr.  Moody  was  slightly  indisposed  that 
evening,  and  the  following  day  Mr.  Sankey's  organ  was  broken,  and 
Mr.  Moody  was  obliged  to  conduct  the  meeting  without  him.  Yet 
at  the  opening  service  not  only  was  the  hall  densely  packed  in  every 
cranny,  but  the  lobbies,  stairs,  and  entrance  were  all  crowded,  and 
several  thousand  people  went  away,  unable  to  obtain  admission. 

On  the  weekdays  following,  the  evening  service  was  held  in  Bar- 
clay Free  Church,  and  every  foot  of  standing  room  in  that  large  edi- 
fice was  occupied  every  night  by  attentive  crowds.  The  attendance 
at  each  meeting  must  have  exceeded  two  thousand.  On  the  evening 
of  the  second  Sunday,  special  services  were  held  in  three  churches : 
the  Barclay  Church,  beginning  at  six  o'clock ;  the  Viewforth  Church, 
at  seven  o'clock,  and  the  Fountainbridge  Church,  at  eight  o'clock. 
Long  before  the  time  appointed  all  three  churches  were  filled  to  over- 
flowing and  hundreds  were  turned  away.  The  second  week  the 
meetings  were  held  in  the  Broughton  Place  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  the  numbers  continued  to  increase. 

"  The  part  of  the  service  toward  which  all  the  rest  tends,  and  in 
which  the  power  culminates,"  said  a  writer  in  "The  Edinburgh  Daily 
Review,"  "  is  the  address  of  Mr.  Moody,  in  which,  in  simple  figures 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  183 

and  telling  language,  he  holds  up  before  men  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus 
and  makes  most  earnest  and  powerful  appeals  to  heart  and  conscience. 
Mr.  Moody  is  strikingly  free  from  all  pretence  and  parade;  he  speaks 
as  one  who  thoroughly  believes  what  he  says  and  who  is  in  downright 
earnest  in  delivering  his  message.  His  descriptions  are  character- 
ized by  a  remarkable  vividness  and  graphic  power.  He  has  a  great 
wealth  of  illustration,  and  his  illustrations  are  always  apposite,  bring- 
ing into  the  .clearest  light  the  point  which  he  intends  to  illustrate, 
and  fixing  it  forever  into  the  memory.  There  is  very  little  excite- 
ment ;  there  is  no  extravagance ;  but  the  effect  of  the  services  is  seen 
in  the  manifest  impression  produced  on  the  audience,  generally  in  the 
anxious  inquirers  (varying  in  number  from  about  forty  to  upward  of 
seventy),  who  remain  for  spiritual  conversation  and  prayer  after  every 
meeting,  and  also  in  the  hundreds  of  persons  in  all  grades  of  the 
social  scale  scattered  through  Edinburgh"  and  the  neighborhood, 
who  are  more  or  less  awakened  to  realize  the  importance  of  eter- 
nal things  and  are  burdened  with  the  sense  of  sin  and  a  longing  to 
obtain  salvation.  Not  a  few  also  profess  to  have  been  brought 
out  of  darkness  into  marvellous  light,  and  to  be  going  on  their  way 
rejoicing." 

In  Edinburgh,  as  in  every  city  where  missions  were  held,  the  daily 
noonday  prayer-meeting  was  established.  The  deep  interest  mani- 
fested in  this  meeting  was  shown  in  two  ways :  First,  in  the  number 
of  requests  for  prayer  sent  in  by  persons  seeking  a  blessing  for  them- 
selves or  others,  of  which  more  than  a  hundred  were  handed  in  at 
every  meeting,  representing  the  burdens,  the  cares,  the  longings  of 
many  a  heart,  with  requests  for  thanksgiving  and  praise  for  former 
prayers  answered  and  blessings  bestowed.  Second,  by  the  large  at- 
tendance, more  than  five  hundred  persons  being  present  the  first  day, 
this  number  steadily  increasing  until,  at  the  end  of  the  first  week,  the 
Queen  Street  Hall  was  found  to  be  too  small. 

For  a  time  there  was  some  difficulty  in  fixing  on  a  suitable  place. 
The  Rev.  Alexander  Whyte,  of  Free  St.  George's,  offered  his  church 


184  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

for  the  prayer-meeting,  bul  finally,  on  account  of  its  central  situation, 
the  Free  Church  Assembly  Hall  was  selected.  The  attendance  soon 
reached  a  thousand,  and  often  exceeded  that  number.  The  first  half 
of  the  hour  was  employed  in  singing  part  of  a  psalm  or  hymn,  reading 
briefly  the  requests  for  prayer,  and  praying,  followed  by  a  few  remarks 
by  Mr.  Moody  on  some  passage  of  Scripture.  During  the  second 
half  of  the  meeting  any  one  could  speak  or  pray  or  call  for  a  hymn. 

Many  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  various  evangelical  denomina- 
tions in  Edinburgh  and  Leith  gladly  welcomed  Mr.  Moody  on  his 
arrival  in  the  city,  and  threw  themselves  heartily  into  the  work. 
Others  who  at  first  had  difficulties  and  stood  somewhat  aloof  found 
their  objections  melting  away  with  personal  contact,  and  identified 
themselves  cordially  with  the  work.  It  was  delightful  to  witness  the 
unbroken  unity  and  brotherly  love  that  prevailed  among  all  engaged 
in  the  movement.  Denominational  differences  were  for  the  time  lost 
sight  of. 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Thomson,  pastor  of  the  Broughton  Place  United 
Presbyterian  Church,  thus  expressed  himself: 

"  There  is  nothing  novel  in  the  doctrine  Mr.  Moody  proclaims.  It 
is  the  old  Gospel — old,  and  yet  always  fresh  and  young,  as  the  living 
fountain  or  the  morning  sun — in  which  the  substitution  of  Christ  is 
placed  in  the  centre  and  presented  with  admirable  distinctness  and 
decision.  It  is  spoken  with  most  impressive  directness,  not  as  by  a 
man  half  convinced  and  who  seems  always  to  feel  that  a  sceptic  is 
looking  over  his  shoulder,  but  with  a  certainty  of  the  truth  of  what 
he  says,  as  if,  like  our  own  Andrew  Fuller,  '  he  could  venture  his  eter- 
nity on  it ' ;  as  if  he  felt  that '  if  he  did  not  speak  the  very  stones  would 
cry  out.' 

"  I  would  not  for  the  wealth  of  the  world  have  the  recollection  of 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard  during  the  past  week  blotted  out  from 
my  memory.  When  Howe  was  chaplain  to  Cromwell  at  Whitehall 
he  became  weary  of  the  trumpery  and  pomp  of  the  palace  and  wrote 
to  his  '  dear  and  honored  brother,'  Richard  Baxter,  telling  him  how 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  185 

much  he  longed  to  be  back  again  to  his  beloved  work  at  Torrington. 
'  I  have  devoted  myself/  he  said,  '  to  serving  God  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  and  how  can  I  lack  the  pleasure  of  hearing  their  cryings  and 
complaints  who  have  come  to  me  under  conviction  ?  '  I  have  shared 
with  many  beloved  brethren  during  the  past  week  in  this  sacred 
pleasure,  and  it  is  like  eating  angels'  bread,  first  to  hear  the  cry  of 
conviction  and  then  the  joy  of  reconciliation  and  peace.  I  was  much 
struck  by  the  variety  among  the  inquirers.  There  were  present 
from  the  old  man  of  seventy-five  to  the  youth  of  eleven,  soldiers  from 
the  castle,  students  from  the  university,  the  backsliding,  the  intem- 
perate, the  sceptic,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  educated  and  the  un- 
educated, and  in  how  many  cases  were  the  wounded  healed  and  the 
burdened  eased !  " 

The  fourth  week  of  special  meetings  began  in  St.  Stephen's  Estab- 
lished Church  on  Tuesday  evening,  December  i6th,  where  the  ser- 
vices were  continued  for  three  evenings.  Admission  was  by  ticket, 
and  the  church  was  crowded  in  every  part,  two  thousand  people  being 
present  at  each  meeting.  St.  Stephen's  congregation  is  composed 
largely  of  the  upper  class,  many  of  whom  attended  and  were  deeply 
impressed  by  the  preaching  and  singing.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Nicholson 
presided,  and  every  evening  there  were  present  ministers  of  all  de- 
nominations from  all  parts  of  the  country,  while  representatives  of  the 
nobility,  professors  from  the  university,  and  distinguished  lawyers 
and  Parliamentary  leaders  were  also  in  evidence. 

The  Free  Assembly  Hall  was  crowded  one  Sunday  morning  with 
Sunday-school  teachers.  Every  one  present  felt  that  his  work  among 
the  young  called  for  absolute  consecration  and  a  high  level  of  Chris- 
tian life.  In  the  evening  the  same  building  was  filled  with  students. 
Around  the  platform  were  professors  from  nearly  all  the  faculties  in 
the  university  and  several  professors  from  the  Free  Church  College. 
Hundreds  applied  for  admission  in  vain,  and  the  Free  High  Church 
was  opened  and  services  conducted  there  as  well  as  in  the  Assembly 
Hall. 


1 86  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Professor  Blaikie  thus  referred  to  the  blessing  which  had  come  to 
the  ministers  of  the  city : 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate  the  ministers  who  have  taken 
a  prominent  and  most  hearty  interest  in  the  movement.  The  utter 
absence  of  jealousy,  the  cordial  cooperation  of  the  clergy  of  all  de- 
nominations in  the  work,  has  been  extremely  striking.  They  have 
gained  in  no  ordinary  measure  the  esteem  of  the  laity  by  their  cor- 
diality, seeming  to  think  nothing  of  the  fact  that  strangers  from  an- 
other country  have  been  the  instrument;  all  other  feelings  being 
apparently  swallowed  up  in  thankfulness  for  the  blessing  that  has 
come.  At  the  same  time  there  is  a  very  general  feeling  that  the  won- 
derful work  is  due  in  a  large  degree  to  the  faithful  labors  and  earnest 
prayers  of  the  clergy  and  Christian  people  of  Edinburgh,  although 
the  peculiar  gifts  of  the  strangers  have  been  especially  blessed. 

"  It  is  amusing  to  observe  how  entirely  the  latent  distrust  of  Mr. 
Sankey's  '  kist  o'  whistles  '  has  disappeared.  There  are  different  ways 
of  using  the  organ.  There  are  organs  in  some  churches  for  mere 
display,  as  some  one  has  said,  '  with  a  devil  in  every  pipe/  but  a  small 
harmonium  designed  to  keep  a  tune  right  is  a  different  matter,  and 
is  seen  to  be  no  hindrance  to  the  devout  and  spiritual  worship  of 
God." 

The  interest  manifested  in  Edinburgh  attracted  the  attention  of 
Scotland  generally,  and  brought  invitations  for  missions  in  other 
cities.  Requests,  sent  not  only  by  ministers,  but  by  provosts,  council- 
lors, and  leading  citizens,  were  received  daily  from  towns  large  and 
small,  and  the  desire  for  Mr.  Moody's  services  seemed  to  be  remark- 
ably serious  and  earnest.  It  was  not  to  gratify  curiosity,  but  to  pro- 
mote spiritual  and  eternal  good  that  his  presence  was  sought;  even 
remote  rural  parishes  in  Scotland  met  to  pray  for  a  blessing  on  his 
labors,  and  the  belief  prevailed  that  what  was  then  going  on  in  Edin- 
burgh would  spread  over  the  country.  "  Never,  probably,"  said  Pro- 
fessor Blaikie,  "  was  Scotland  so  stirred ;  never  was  there  so  much 
expectation." 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  187 

The  meetings  increased  in  numbers  and  in  spiritual  interest  as  the 
weeks  went  by.  One  Sunday  morning  Mr.  Moody  preached  to  the 
young  men  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall  at  nine  o'clock.  The  place 
was  filled  to  overflowing,  though  the  admission  was  by  ticket.  At 
the  close  of  the  service  a  gentleman  appealed  to  him  for  another 
effort  among  the  young  men.  Mr.  Moody  replied  that  if  those 
present  would  get  up  another  meeting  for  unconverted  young  men 
he  would  address  them,  and  he  asked  all  those  who  were  willing  to 
work  to  stand  up.  The  whole  audience  rose,  and  the  second  meeting 
was  held  on  Friday  evening.  On  Sunday  evening  the  Free  Assembly 
Hall,  the  Established  Assembly  Hall,  and  the  Free  High  Church  were 
all  filled  to  overflowing,  as  well  as  Free  St.  John's  Church.  All  de- 
nominational differences  were  forgotten.  Professor  Charteris  spoke 
in  the  Free  Church;  Professor  Blaikie  spoke  in  the  Established 
Church.  Brethren  from  all  parts  of  the  country  came  together  in  the 
unity  of  a  common  need  and  a  common  Saviour.  So  deep  was  the 
spiritual  awakening  that  the  following  circular  letter  was  sent  to  every 
minister  in  Scotland: 

"  Edinburgh  is  now  enjoying  signal  manifestations  of  grace.  Many 
of  the  Lord's  people  are  not  surprised  at  this.  Ministers  and  others 
have  been  for  some  time  discerning  tokens  of  special  interest  and  ex- 
pectation attending  the  Ordinary  ministrations  of  the  Word ;  and  in 
October  and  November  last  many  Christians  of  various  denomina- 
tions met  from  time  to  time  to  pray  for  it.  They  hoped  that  they 
might  have  a  visit  from  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey,  of  America,  but 
they  very  earnestly  besought  the  Lord  that  He  would  deliver  them 
from  depending  upon  them  or  on  any  instrumentality,  and  that  He 
Himself  would  come  with  them  or  come  before  them.  He  has  gra- 
ciously answered  that  prayer,  and  His  own  presence  is  now  wonder- 
fully manifested  among  them.  God  is  so  affecting  the  hearts  of  men 
that  the  Free  Church  Assembly  Hall,  the  largest  public  building  in 
Edinburgh,  is  crowded  every  evening  with  meetings  for  prayer,  and 
both  that  building  and  the  Established  Church  Assembly  Hall  over- 


j88  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

flow  whenever  the  Gospel  is  preached.  But  the  numbers  that  attend 
are  not  the  most  remarkable  feature.  It  is  the  presence  and  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  solemn  awe,  the  prayerful,  believing,  expectant 
spirit,  the  anxious  inquiry  of  unsaved  souls,  and  the  longing  of 
believers  to  grow  more  like  Christ— their  hungering  and  thirsting 
after  holiness.  The  hall  of  the  Tolbooth  Parish  Church  and  the  Free 
High  Church  are  nightly  attended  by  anxious  inquirers.  All  de- 
nominational and  social  distinctions  are  entirely  merged.  All  this  is 
of  the  grace  of  God. 

"  Another  proof  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  is  that  a  desire  has 
been  felt  and  expressed  in  these  meetings  that  all  Scotland  should 
share  the  blessing  that  the  capital  is  now  enjoying. 

"  It  is  impossible  that  our  beloved  friends  from  America  should 
visit  every  place,  or  even  all  those  where  they  have  been  urged  to  go. 
But  this  is  not  necessary.  The  Lord  is  willing  Himself  to  go  wher- 
ever He  is  truly  invited.  He  is  waiting.  The  Lord's  people  in  Edin- 
burgh, therefore,  would  affectionately  entreat  all  their  brethren 
throughout  the  land  to  be  importunate  in  invoking  Him  to  come  to 
them  and  to  dismiss  all  doubt  as  to  His  being  willing  to  do  so. 

"  The  Week  of  Prayer,  from  the  4th  to  the  nth  of  January  next, 
affords  a  favorable  opportunity  for  combined  action.  In  every  town 
and  hamlet  let  there  be  a  daily  meeting  for  prayer  during  that  week 
and  also  as  often  as  may  be  before  it.  In  Edinburgh  the  hour  is  from 
twelve  to  one  o'clock,  and  where  the  same  hour  suits  other  places  it 
would  be  well  to  meet  together  in  faith  at  the  throne  of  grace.  But 
let  the  prayers  not  be  formal,  unbelieving,  unexpecting,  but  short, 
fervent,  earnest  entreaties,  with  abounding  praise  and  frequent  short 
exhortations;  let  them  entreat  a  blessing  on  all  the  means  of  grace 
enjoyed  by  our  native  land,  and  let  them  also  embrace  the  whole 
world,  that  'God's  way  may  be  known  upon  earth.  His  saving  health 
among  all  nations.'  If  the  country  will  thus  fall  on  its  knees,  the  God 
who  has  filled  our  national  history  with  the  wonders  of  His  love  will 
come  again,  and  surprise  even  the  strongest  believers  by  the  unprece- 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  189 

dented  tokens  of  His  grace.  'Call  upon  Me  and  I  will  answer  thee, 
and  show  thee  great  and  mighty  things,  which  thou  knowest  not'  " 

While  the  Holy  Spirit  was  daily  and  hourly  approving  the  work  of 
the  evangelists  the  powers  of  darkness  were  not  idle.  A  Scotchman 
in  Chicago,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  sent  a  scurrilous  letter  to  a  promi- 
nent clergyman  in  Scotland  attacking  both  the  commercial  honesty 
and  the  religious  character  of  Mr.  Moody.  Unsupported  by  the 
slightest  evidence,  the  charges  were  made  that  he  had  sold  informa- 
tion regarding  the  interest  of  one  of  his  employers  to  a  business  rival ; 
and,  further,  that  he  was  insincere  in  his  attitude  toward  the  doctrines 
so  dear  to  Scotch  hearts. 

The  letter  was  widely  distributed  in  manuscript  copies  in  places 
where  it  would  do  the  greatest  possible  harm  and  where  it  would  be 
most  difficult  to  counteract  its  influence.  At  last  a  copy  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Edinburgh  Committee,  and  steps  were  taken  to  ascertain 
the  truth  or  falsity  of  the  statements  made. 

Mr.  Moody  was  deeply  exercised  over  the  letter  for  the  sake  of 
the  work  in  Scotland,  although  perfectly  conscious  of  his  rectitude. 
He  trusted  his  reputation  implicitly  to  his  Heavenly  Father  and  de- 
manded that  the  committee  who  had  invited  him  to  Edinburgh  give 
the  matter  a  thorough  investigation. 

The  Rev.  John  Kelman,  of  Free  St.  John's,  Leith,  the  secretary  of 
the  Edinburgh  Committee,  and  the  man  who  had  gone  to  Newcastle 
to  see  Mr.  Moody's  work,  and  who  was  in  a  large  measure  responsible 
for  his  visit  to  Scotland,  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  Mr.  Farwell  in 
Chicago,  saying : 

"  The  friends  of  religion  who  have  been  associated  in  Christian 
work  with  Mr.  Moody  in  this  country  are  anxious  that  there  should 
be  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  these  charges. 
I  have  been  requested  to  apply  to  you  in  the  hope  that  you  would  be 
kind  enough  to  furnish  me  at  your  earliest  convenience  with  whatever 
information  you  can  obtain  as  to  the  facts  in  the  case." 

The  following  communication,  signed  by  thirty-five  clergymen, 


190  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

educators,  editors,  and  secretaries  who  had  known  Mr.  Moody  and 
his  work  in  Chicago,  was  sent  to  the  Edinburgh  Committee : 

"  We,  the  undersigned  pastors  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  learning  that 
the  Christian  character  of  D.  L.  Moody  has  been  attacked,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  his  influence  as  an  evangelist  in  Scotland, 
hereby  certify  that  his  labors  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, and  as  an  evangelist  in  this  city  and  elsewhere,  according  to  the 
best  information  we  can  get,  have  been  evangelical  and  Christian  in 
the  highest  sense  of  those  terms;  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  commend 
him  as  an  earnest  Christian  worker,  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  our 
Scotch  and  English  brethren,  with  whom  he  is  now  laboring,  believ- 
ing that  the  Master  will  be  honored  by  them  in  receiving  him  among 
them  as  a  colaborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord." 

Later  C.  M.  Henderson,  the  nephew  of  his  former  employers, 
the  successor  to  the  business  and  the  head  of  the  house  at  the  time 
the  criticism  was  made,  said :  "  For  fifteen  years  since  Mr.  Moody 
left  us  I  have  watched  him,  assisted  him,  and  believed  in  him,"  and 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Henderson  a  few  years  since  he  was  a  frequent 
contributor  to  Mr.  Moody's  work. 

Severe  as  had  been  the  test  of  faith  and  bitter  as  had  been  the 
experience  during  two  or  three  months  before  this  slander  was  run 
down  and  killed,  the  outcome  gave  Mr.  Moody  a  hold  upon  Scotland 
which  it  is  doubtful  he  could  have  secured  if  all  men  had  spoken 
well  of  him. 

Along  with  the  Edinburgh  meetings  services  were  held  in  Leith, 
in  the  Free  North  Leith  Church  (Dr.  Macdonald's)  and  in  the  Free 
St.  John's  (the  Rev.  J.  Kelman's).  These  meetings  were  important 
from  the  fact  that  the  large  shipping  interests  of  the  town  attracted 
people  from  almost  all  parts  of  the  world.  Many  seafaring  men 
attended  the  services,  and  the  influence  extended  not  only  through- 
out the  great  population  of  Scotland,  but  was  carried  in  the  ships 
around  the  world. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  Edinburgh  meetings  Dr.  Horatius  Bonar 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  I9I 

sent  a  letter  which,  although  not  intended  for  publication,  had  been  so 
frequently  requested  by  the  public  that  it  was  printed,  and  an  extract 
is  given  herewith.  After  referring  to  the  meeting  in  the  Corn  Ex- 
change with  its  great  crowd  of  listeners,  most  of  them  from  the  Grass- 
market  and  the  Cowgate,  he  said : 

"  These  American  brethren  bring  to  us  no  new  Gospel,  nor  do  they 
pretend  to  novelty  of  any  kind  in  their  plans,  save  perhaps  that  of 
giving  greater  prominence  to  the  singing  of  hymns,  conveying  the 
good  news  to  their  hearers  through  this  instrumentality.  We  may 
trust  them.  They  fully  deserve  our  confidence ;  the  more  we  know 
of  them  in  private  the  more  do  we  appreciate  them  and  the  more  do 
we  feel  inclined  to  cast  in  our  lot  with  them.  We  ask  for  soundness 
in  faith,  and  we  do  well.  These  men  are  sound.  We  ask  for  a  con- 
sistent humble  life,  and  we  do  well.  These  men  are  consistent  and 
humble.  We  ask  for  self-denial,  and  we  do  well.  These  men  are 
self-denying,  hard-working  men,  who  are  spending  and  being  spent  in 
a  service  which  they  believe  to  be  not  human  but  divine.  We  ask  for 
definite  aims,  an  ultimatum  in  which  self  shall  have  no  place,  and  we 
do  well.  These  men  have  the  most  definite  of  all  definite  aims — win- 
ning souls  to  everlasting  joy,  and  they  look  for  no  fame  and  no  reward 
save  the  Master's  approval :  the  recompense  in  reserve  for  those  who 
turn  many  to  righteousness.  They  have  in  view  no  sinister  nor  sor- 
did motives,  as  their  past  history  shows,  as  every  one  who  associates 
with  them  must  feel.  Besides  all  this,  it  is  vain  to  try  to  stop  them. 
They  will  work  and  they  will  speak,  whoever  shall  say  nay.  Let  us 
work  along  with  them.  Rowland  Hill  was  once  asked  the  question : 
'  When  do  you  intend  to  stop  ?  '  '  Not  until  we  have  carried  all  be- 
fore us,'  was  his  answer.  So  say  our  brethren  from  Chicago.  We 
say,  Amen.  This  needy  world  says  Amen.  Human  wickedness  and 
evil  say  Amen.  Heaven  and  earth  say  Amen.  The  work  is  great 
and  the  time  is  short,  but  strength  is  not  of  man  but  of  God." 

The  most  remarkable  meeting,  perhaps,  held  in  Edinburgh  was 
that  held  during  the  closing  hours  of  the  year  1873.    There  were 


I02  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

many  misgivings  as  to  the  possibility  of  keeping  a  large  audience 
together  from  eight  o'clock  until  twelve  on  the  last  night  of  the  year. 
Mr.  Moody's  expectations,  however,  were  justified  by  the  crowd 
which  filled  the  Free  Assembly  Hall  for  five  hours  on  that  evening. 
Many  of  all  ages  and  classes  stood  all  the  evening,  or  exchanged  places 
occasionally  with  those  who  had  seats  near  them.  Mr.  Moody  entered 
the  hall  at  eight  o'clock  accompanied  by  many  ministers  and  laymen. 
The  congregation  had  already  been  waiting  for  them  an  hour.  After 
singing  and  prayer,  he  announced  that  the  order  for  the  evening 
would  be :  "  The  utmost  irregularity.  In  fact,  anything  that  is  wor- 
ship will  be  in  order ;  and  when  I  am  speaking,  if  any  one  has  an  illus- 
tration to  give,  or  would  like  to  sing  a  hymn  or  offer  prayer,  let  him 
do  so."  This  singular  invitation  was  at  once  accepted  and  acted  upon 
by  many  speakers,  and  gave  constant  variety  to  the  meeting,  so  that 
the  interest  never  flagged.  Mr.  Sankey  and  the  Fisk  Jubilee  Sing- 
ers sang  hymns  frequently.  Soon  after  eleven  o'clock  Bible  study 
ceased,  and  the  remainder  of  the  session  was  given  to  prayer. 

During  the  Week  of  Prayer  the  services  continued,  with  remark- 
able results.  On  January  I4th  Mr.  Moody  presided  at  an  all-day 
Christian  convention  held  in  the  Free  Church  Assembly  Hall,  which 
was  largely  attended.  The  Tolbooth  Established  Church  and  the 
Free  High  Church  were  equally  crowded.  The  people  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  poured  in  by  hundreds,  and  some  were  there  who 
had  come  fifty,  a  hundred,  and  two  hundred  miles.  Dr.  Bonar  opened 
the  proceedings  with  an  address  on  "  Personal  Effort."  Reports 
were  received  from  Newcastle  and  other  places  where  Mr.  Moody 
had  held  meetings,  showing  that  the  work  which  had  been  started  had 
gone  on  after  they  left  the  place.  An  hour  was  devoted  to  the  ques- 
tion drawer,  which  Mr.  Moody  conducted.  The  services  closed  with 
an  address  by  him  on  "  Works." 

Donald  McAllan,  the  chairman  of  an  Infidel  Club  in  Edinburgh, 
for  many  years  had  given  great  trouble  to  the  Carrubber's  Close 
workers.  He  went  to  a  meeting  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall  to  have 


The  Awakening  in  Edinburgh  193 

an  argument  with  the  evangelist.  Instead  of  arguing  with  him  Mr. 
Moody  dealt  with  him  as  with  a  man  needing  salvation,  asking  if  he 
had  ever  heard  or  known  of  any  one  who  wished  to  be  saved  by  Jesus 
and  had  come  to  Him  and  been  refused.  Reluctantly  he  admitted 
that  he  did  not  know  of  any  such  case. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  the  Scripture  cannot  be  broken.  Do 
you  know  we  are  praying  for  you — and  you  will  yet  be  converted !  " 

Later  on,  in  the  town  of  Wick,  Mr.  Moody  met  this  man  again,  and 
saw  that  the  Spirit  was  dealing  with  him.  On  his  return  to  Edin- 
burgh McAllan  was  attending  a  meeting  which  was  being  addressed 
by  James  Balfour,  when  he  suddenly  became  converted. 

American  newspapers  heard  of  this  story  and  denied  its  truth,  but 
at  a  meeting  subsequently  held  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall  Mr.  Moody 
told  the  story  of  the  conversion  and  its  denial,  adding : 

"  I  understand  that  this  former  infidel  is  present  in  this  meeting. 
If  so,  will  he  kindly  rise  and  bear  witness  to  the  fact  of  his  conver- 
sion? " 

Mr.  McAllan  rose  near  the  spot  where  Mr.  Moody  had  first  dealt 
with  him,  admitted  that  he  had  been  the  infidel  who  had  formerly 
opposed  the  Gospel  so  bitterly,  and  declared  what  great  things  the 
Lord  had  done  for  him. 

During  these  Edinburgh  meetings  Mr.  Moody  took  occasion  to 
reply  to  some  criticisms  which  had  appeared  in  the  daily  papers. 
These  were  to  the  effect  that  he  had  cast  a  slight  on  the  educated 
ministry  in  one  of  his  addresses  at  the  recent  all-day  conference  in 
Glasgow.  Mr.  Moody  asserted  that  he  had  said  he  did  believe  in 
an  educated  ministry,  and  appealed  for  corroboration  to  those  pres- 
ent who  had  heard  him. 

"  Many  young  men  enter  on  Christian  work  far  too  late  in  life  for 
them  to  go  through  the  regular  college  course.  The  church  ought 
to  take  these  men  in  hand  and  give  them  the  opportunity  for  doing 
that  for  which  they  are  fitted.  Peter,  the  unlettered  fisherman,  did 
work  as  good  as  Paul,  the  man  of  education.  Of  course  Paul  did 


I94  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

some  special  duties  better  because  of  his  education.  But  there  are 
some  kinds  of  work  that  men,  whether  educated  or  not,  are  not  fitted 
for.  Why  should  not  devoted  Christian  women  be  trained  to  hold 
mothers'  meetings,  cottage  prayer-meetings,  and  to  teach  young 
mothers  cooking,  dressmaking,  and  so  forth?  That  is  a  practical 
kind  of  Christianity  for  which  only  consecrated  and  trained  women 
are  fitted.  The  churches  ought  also  to  train  helpers  to  go  around 
among  the  people  and  get  hold  of  the  non-churchgoers,  and  in  that 
way  supplement  the  regular  ministry.  The  time  has  come  to  call  out 
the  volunteers.  In  Scotland  there  are  piety  and  education  and  money 
enough  to  evangelize  the  whole  world.  If  a  man  has  a  desire  for  a 
university  education  let  him  have  it  by  all  means,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary for  every  one  to  know  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew."  As  a  fin- 
ishing stroke  on  this  point,  Mr.  Moody  quaintly  observed  that  he 
regretted  exceedingly  he  had  never  had  a  college  education  himself; 
but  he  did  not  get  it,  and  he  was  doing  the  best  he  could  without  it. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
IN  GLASGOW  AND  THE  SCOTTISH  TOWNS 

GLASGOW  was  visited  after  the  Edinburgh  mission  closed; 
in  fact  preparations  began  as  soon  as  the  Edinburgh  work 
started.  In  the  middle  of  December  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Glasgow  to  arrange  for  the  visit  of  the  Americans,  which  was  attended 
by  more  than  a  hundred  ministers  and  laymen  of  all  the  evangelical 
churches.  At  the  first  of  a  series  of  union  prayer-meetings  in  St. 
George's  Established  Church  on  January  5th,  Mr.  Moody  spoke 
briefly,  returning  to  Edinburgh  for  the  evening  meeting.  After 
beginning  their  work  in  Glasgow,  he  returned  to  Edinburgh  two  or 
three  times  to  assist  in  special  meetings.  Berwick-on-Tweed,  Mel- 
rose,  and  Dundee  were  visited,  and  meetings  lasting  a  few  days  each 
were  conducted  there  after  the  Edinburgh  mission  closed. 

The  Glasgow  meetings  had  been  going  on  uninterruptedly  for 
more  than  a  month  when  Moody  and  Sankey  reached  there  on  Feb- 
ruary 7th,  and  began  their  labors  on  the  following  morning,  February 
8th.  At  nine  o'clock  a  stirring  meeting  of  Sabbath-school  teachers 
was  held  in  the  City  Hall,  attended  by  about  three  thousand.  The 
evening  evangelistic  service  was  held  at  half-past  six,  but  more  than 
an  hour  before  that  time  the  City  Hall  was  crowded,  and  the  great 
multitude  outside  were  drafted  off  to  the  three  churches  nearest, 
which  were  soon  filled.  The  next  day  prayer-meeting  began  in  the 
morning  in  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

Dr.  Bonar  thus  referred  to  the  meetings  not  long  after  they  were 
started : 


198  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  There  have  been  not  a  few  awakened  of  late,  and  the  interest  is 
deepening.  The  ministers  of  all  denominations  take  part  most  cor- 
dially. Men  are  coming  from  great  distances  to  ask  the  way  of  life, 
awakened  to  this  concern  by  no  directly  human  means,  but  evidently 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  breathing  over  the  land.  It  is  such  a  time 
as  we  have  never  had  in  Scotland  before.  The  same  old  Gospel  as 
of  aforetime  is  preached  to  all  men :  Christ  who  was  made  sin  for  us, 
Christ  the  substitute,  Christ's  blood,  Christ's  righteousness,  Christ 
crucified;  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation; 
but  now  the  Gospel  is  preached  '  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
Heaven?  and  amid  all  this  the  enemy  is  restrained,  so  that  we  are 
reminded  of  Revelation,  vii.  1-3,  the  time  before  the  coming  of  the 
Lord,  when  the  four  angels  are  charged  to  let  no  storm  burst  in,  nor 
to  allow  the  wind  of  Heaven  to  ruffle  the  sea's  smooth  surface  or 
move  the  leaf  of  any  tree  until  the  seal  of  the  living  God  has  been 
put  upon  His  elect.  Is  not  this  sealing  going  on  daily  among  us? 
Are  not  the  four  angels  looking  on  ?  Surely  it  is  the  time  to  seek  the 
Lord  that  He  may  rain  righteousness  upon  us." 

From  Glasgow  as  a  centre,  occasional  meetings  were  arranged  in 
adjoining  towns,  and  Helensbtirg,  Greenock,  and  Paisley  were  visited, 
while  the  ministers  of  Glasgow  and  other  cities  took  the  regular  meet- 
ings during  the  absence  of  Mr.  Moody. 

On  Thursday,  April  i6th,  a  nvention  of  ministers,  office-bearers, 
and  other  Christians  from  all  parts  of  Scotland  and  the  North  of  Eng- 
land was  held  in  the  Crystal  Palace  Botanical  Gardens.  Five  thou- 
sand people  were  present,  the  larger  proportion  being  men.  Profes- 
sor Charteris,  of  Edinburgh,  read  a  paper  showing  how  the  revival 
movement  could  be  advanced  and  directed  into  the  ordinary  church 
channels.  Professor  Fairburn,  of  the  Free  College,  spoke  upon  the 
great  doctrines  which  had  been  emphasized  during  the  meetings. 
Dr.  Cairns,  of  Berwick,  Mr.  Van  Meter,  of  Rome,  and  others  took 
part. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  gatherings  during  this  mission  was 


In  Glasgow  and  the  Scottish  Towns  199 

a  meeting  held  in  the  Kibble  Crystal  Palace  especially  for  warehouse 
girls,  of  whom  there  are  probably  more  than  twelve  thousand  in  the 
city.  Tickets  were  issued,  and  while  five  thousand  were  seated  in 
the  building  and  several  hundred  standing,  outside  was  a  crowd  of 
more  than  a  thousand  girls.  On  the  following  evening  the  meet- 
ing was  for  young  men,  when  nearly  six  thousand  were  Brought 
together.  A  service  was  held  for  children  also,  and  another  for  young 
women. 

The  final  meeting  was  held  in  the  Botanical  Gardens  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday.  Mr.  Sankey  found  his  way  into  the  building  and  began 
the  service  with  six  or  seven  thousand,  who  were  crushed  together 
there,  but  so  great  was  the  crowd  outside,  estimated  at  twenty  or 
thirty  thousand  people,  that  Mr.  Moody  himself  could  not  get  inside. 
Standing  on  the  coachman's  box  of  the  carriage  in  which  he  was 
driven,  he  asked  the  members  of  the  choir  to  sing.  They  found  a 
place  for  themselves  on  the  roof  of  a  low  shed  near  the  building,  and 
after  they  had  sung  Mr.  Moody  preached  for  an  hour  on  "  Immediate 
Salvation."  So  distinct  was  his  voice  that  the  great  crowd  could  hear 
him  without  difficulty.  The  evening  was  beautiful,  the  air  calm,  the 
sun  near  its  setting ;  the  deep  green  foliage  of  the  trees  that  enclosed 
the  grounds  framed  the  scene.  Writing  of  this,  a  witness  said : 

"  We  thought  of  the  days  of  Whitefield,  of  such  a  scene  as  that  men- 
tioned in  his  life,  when,  in  1753  at  Glasgow,  twenty  thousand  souls 
hung  on  his  lips  as  he  bade  them  farewell.  Here  there  were  thirty 
thousand  eager  hearers,  for  by  this  time  the  thousands  within  the 
Crystal  Palace  had  come  out,  though  their  numbers  quietly  melting 
into  the  main  body  did  not  make  a  very  perceptible  addition  to  the 
crowd ;  and  many  onlookers  who  knew  something  of  such  gatherings 
were  inclined  to  estimate  the  number  much  higher." 

After  the  sermon  Mr.  Moody  asked  all  those  who  wished  to  attend 
the  inquiry  meeting  to  enter  the  palace.  Those  who  could  remain 
were  requested  to  gather  in  the  neighboring  church,  Kelvinside,  for 
prayer.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Crystal  Palace  was  filled,  and  when 


200  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Mr.  Moody  asked  for  those  who  were  unsaved  and  yet  anxious  to  be 
saved,  two  thousand  people  rose  to  their  feet. 

"  It  was  a  strange  and  solemn  sight,  so  many  unsaved  and  yet  seek- 
ing salvation,"  said  a  spectator.  "  It  made  the  heart  yearn  in  an 
intense  desire  for  them,  and  assuredly  it  was  of  the  Lord  that  these 
two  thousand  should  thus  appeal  to  the  Lord's  people  for  help  at  the 
very  moment  when  these  special  meetings  were  brought  to  a  close. 
It  was  a  sight  that  summoned  the  Lord's  people  to  continue  every 
effort  in  their  behalf,  hastening  with  sharpened  sickles  to  the  fields 
ready  for  the  harvest." 

Thursday,  May  24th,  being  the  Queen's  birthday  and  a  general 
holiday  in  Edinburgh,  a  farewell  meeting  was  held  on  the  grassy 
slopes  between  Arthur's  Seat  and  Salisbury  Craig  above  Holyrood. 
'Here  Mr.  Moody  preached  to  an  audience  of  twenty  thousand,  and 
the  scenes  witnessed  in  Glasgow  the  previous  Sunday  were  repeated. 

From  Glasgow  Mr.  Moody  went  to  the  north  of  Scotland.  In 
Dundee,  where  he  was  holding  meetings,  he  was  taken  to  visit  a  bed- 
ridden cripple,  and  the  conversation  he  held  there  left  a  lifelong  im- 
pression upon  him,  and  in  after  years  frequently  figured  as  an  illus- 
tration in  his  sermons.  The  sufferer  had  fallen  and  broken  his  back 
when  he  was  a  boy  of  fifteen.  He  had  lain  on  his  bed  for  about  forty 
years,  and  could  not  be  moved  without  great  pain.  Probably  not  a 
day  had  passed  in  all  those  years  without  acute  suffering,  but  day  after 
day  the  grace  of  God  had  been  granted  to  him,  and  his  chamber 
seemed  as  near  Heaven  as  one  could  get  on  earth. 

"  I  can  imagine  that  when  the  angels  passed  over  Dundee  they  had 
to  stop  there  for  refreshment,"  said  Mr.  Moody.  "  When  I  saw  him, 
I  thought  he  must  be  beyond  reach  of  the  tempter,  and  I  asked  him : 
'  Doesn't  Satan  ever  tempt  you  to  doubt  God,  and  to  think  that  He 
is  a  hard  Master  ?  ' 

Oh,  yes/  he  said,  '  he  does  try  to  tempt  me.  I  lie  here  and 
see  my  old  schoolmates  driving  along  in  their  carriages,  and  Satan 
says : "  If  God  is  so  good  why  does  He  keep  you  here  all  these  years  ? 


In  Glasgow  and  the  Scottish  Towns  201 

You  might  have  been  a  rich  man,  riding  in  your  own  carriage." 
Then  I  see  a  man  who  was  young  when  I  was  walk  by  in  perfect 
health,  and  Satan  whispers :  "  If  God  loved  you,  couldn't  He  have 
kept  you  from  breaking  your  back?  "  ' 

; '  What  do  you  do  when  Satan  tempts  you  ?  ' 

Ah,  I  just  take  him  to  Calvary  and  I  show  him  Christ  and  I 
point  out  those  wounds  in  His  hands  and  feet  and  side,  and  say, 
"  Doesn't  He  love  me  ?  "  and  the  fact  is,  he  got  such  a  scare  there 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago  that  he  cannot  stand  it;  he  leaves  me 
every  time.'  That  bedridden  saint  had  not  much  trouble  with  doubts; 
he  was  too  full  of  the  grace  of  God." 

At  Aberdeen  no  building  could  accommodate  the  audience,  and 
on  Sabbath  afternoon,  June  I4th,  the  meeting  was  on  the  links  in 
the  natural  amphitheatre  of  the  Broadhill,  where  a  platform  had  been 
erected  for  choir  and  speakers.  Some  ten  thousand  people  were 
around  the  platform  long  before  the  hour  of  the  meeting,  and  when 
Mr.  Moody  spoke  on  "  The  Wages  of  Sin  is  Death,"  it  is  estimated 
that  from  twenty  to  twenty-two  thousand  people  heard  his  words. 

Montrose,  Brechin,  Forfar,  Huntley  (where  more  than  fifteen  thou- 
sand people  were  gathered  in  the  open-air  service),  Inverness, 
Arbroath,  Tain,  Nairn,  Elgin,  Forres,  Grantown,  Keith,  Rothesay, 
and  Campbelltownwere  some  of  the  places  visited  during  the  summer. 

An  employer  was  converted  at  one  of  the  meetings  in  another  part 
of  Scotland.  He  was  very  anxious  that  all  of  his  employees  should  be 
reached,  and  he  used  to  send  them  one  by  one  to  the  meetings.  But 
there  was  one  employee  who  wouldn't  attend.  The  moment  he  heard 
of  his  employer's  desire  he  made  up  his  mind  he  wouldn't  go.  If  he 
was  going  to  be  converted,  he  said,  he  was  going  to  be  converted 
under  some  ordained  minister;  he  was  not  going  to  any  meeting  that 
was  conducted  by  unordained  Americans.  He  believed  in  the  regu- 
lar Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  and  that  was  the  place  for  him 
to  be  converted. 

"  After  we  left  that  town  and  went  away  up  to  Inverness,"  said  Mr. 


202  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Moody  in  relating  the  incident,  "  the  employer  had  some  business  up 
there,  and  he  sent  this  man  to  manage  it. 

"  One  night,  as  I  was  preaching  on  the  bank  of  a  river,  I  happened 
to  take  for  my  text  the  words  of  Naaman :  '/  thought:  I  was  trying 
to  take  men's  thoughts  up  and  to  show  the  difference  between  their 
thoughts  and  God's  thoughts.  This  man  was  walking  along  the 
bank  of  the  river.  He  saw  a  great  crowd,  and  heard  some  one  talk- 
ing, and  wondered  what  that  man  was  talking  about.  He  didn't 
know  we  were  in  the  city,  so  he  drew  up  to  the  crowd  and  listened. 
He  heard  the  sermon  and  became  convicted  and  converted  right 
there.  Then  he  inquired  who  was  the  preacher,  and  he  found  out  it 
was  the  very  man  whom  he  had  said  he  would  not  hear — the  man  he 
disliked.  The  very  man  he  had  been  talking  against  was  the  man 
God  used  to  reach  him." 

An  all-day  meeting  was  held  at  Inverness  on  August  27th.  Mr. 
Moody  with  a  few  friends  then  went  down  the  Caledonian  Canal  to 
Oban,  where  much  preparatory  work  had  been  done  during  the  two 
preceding  months  by  Drs.  Horatius  and  Andrew  Bonar.  After  a  few 
hours'  rest  at  the  home  of  Sir  William  McKinnon  at  Ballinakill  he 
concluded  his  stay  in  Scotland  by  a  mission  to  Campbelltown. 

A  year  after  the  evangelists  left  Glasgow  Dr.  Andrew  A.  Bonar 
said: 

"  We  in  Glasgow  who  have  watched  this  movement  and  taken  part 
in  it  are  aware  that  our  testimony  cannot  have  much  influence  on 
those  to  whom  we  are  strangers,  but  to  any  of  those  who  will  listen 
we  should  like  to  testify  to  the  permanence  of  the  work  among  us, 
and  any  who  will  come  and  see  for  themselves  will  at  once  discover 
how  extensive  and  sincere  this  work  has  been.  Personally  I  can  say, 
and  many  of  my  brethren  are  prepared  to  make  the  same  statement, 
that  the  fruit  of  last  year  has  been  as  satisfactory  in  every  way  as  at 
any  period  in  my  ministry,  while  it  has  also  had  some  new  features  of 
special  interest.  There  have  indeed  been  cases  of  backsliding,  but 
what  of  that  ?  Is  not  the  parable  of  the  sower  true  in  all  ages  ?  " 


In  Glasgow  and  the  Scottish  Towns  203 

In  his  biography  of  Henry  Drummond,  Dr.  George  Adam  Smith 
states  that  the  power  of  the  revival  movement  in  Scotland  at  this  time 
spread  beyond  the  congregations  immediately  gathered,  and  that  one 
of  its  most  striking  features  was  the  social  and  philanthropic  work  it 
stimulated. 

"  Like  all  religious  revivals,"  he  says,  "  this  one  had  its  origin 
among  the  merely  well-to-do  classes,  and  at  first  offered  some  ground 
for  the  sneers  at  bourgeois  religion  which  were  cast  upon  it.  But 
Mr.  Moody,  who  had  a  knowledge  of  the  city,  and  the  power  to  bring 
up  before  others  the  vision  of  its  needs,  inspired  the  Christians  of 
Glasgow  to  attempt  missions  to  the  criminal  classes  and  the  relief  of 
the  friendless.  The  lodging-houses  were  visited,  with  every  haunt 
of  vagrants  about  the  brick-kilns  upon  the  south  side  and  elsewhere. 
Temperance  work  was  organized,  and  although  there  were,  as  always 
in  that  work,  very  many  disappointments,  a  large  number  of  poor 
drunkards  were  befriended  and  reformed. 

"  A  huge  tent  was  raised  on  the  Green,  and  afterward  replaced 
by  a  hall,  which  became  the  scene  of  a  Sabbath  morning  breakfast 
to  the  poor  and  the  centre  of  a  great  deal  of  other  philanthropic 
activity.  New  interest  was  aroused  in  industrial  schools,  and,  on  the 
advice  of  Sheriff  Watson,  a  veteran  in  this  line  of  education,  an  indus- 
trial feeding-school  was  established  for  ill-fed  and  ill-clad  children. 
At  Saltcoates  a  house  was  bought  and  furnished  for  orphans;  new 
impulses  were  given  to  the  Orphan's  Home  of  Scotland,  founded  in 
1871  by  Mr.  Quarrier,  who,  with  his  fellow-workers  among  the  poor 
of  Glasgow,  has  given  inestimable  assistance  to  Mr.  Moody's  mission. 
A  boarding-house  for  young  women  was  opened  in  Glasgow. 

"  Mr.  Moody  gave  great  attention  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  and  at  the  height  of  the  movement  secured  very  large 
subscriptions  for  their  foundation  or  expansion.  He  felt  strongly 
that  they  had  been  conducted  upon  methods  which  were  either  too 
vague  or  too  narrow,  and  that  for  their  success  '  clear  and  liberal 
views  were  needed.'  He  defined  their  aim — to  promote  the  spiritual 


The  Life  of  Dwight  L-  Moody 


204 

instincts  and  look  after  the  temporal  welfare  of  youne^Ren.  Each 
ought  to  be  a  nursery  of  Christian  character,  a  inqsHSTcient  evan- 
gelistic agency,  a  centre  of  social  meetings,  and  a  means  of  furthering 
the  progress  of  young  men  in  the  general  pursuits  of  life.  But  along 
with  liberality  in  your  aims  you  must  have  thoroughness  in  details. 
The  spiritual  must  be  distinctly  dominant.  Do  not,  however,  put 
the  Association  in  place  of  the  church;  it  is  only  a  handmaid  and  a 
feeder  of  the  church.  For  every  man  it  must  find  some  work,  and 
use  every  particle  of  power  in  the  young  convert." 

Professor  Smith  has  not  been  able  to  trace  with  exactness  how 
Henry  Drummond  was  drawn  into  the  movement  by  Mr.  Moody. 
But  from  the  first,  he  says,  Drummond  felt  Mr.  Moody's  sincerity  and 
the  practical  wisdom  of  the  new  methods.  The  aim  at  the  individual, 
the  endeavor  to  arouse  and  secure  him  —  this  was  what  he  had  missed 
in  ordinary  church  methods  and  now  found.  The  inquiry  meetings 
bridged  the  gap  between  the  preacher  and  the  hearer,  and  brought 
them  together,  man  to  man,  before  God.  On  his  side,  Mr.  Moody 
was  feeling  the  need  of  a  young  man  to  take  charge  of  the  meetings 
for  young  men,  and  it  is  a  tribute  to  his  insight  that  he  chose  one 
whose  style  and  tastes  were  so  different  from  his  own.  At  first 
Drummond  was  employed,  like  other  students,  only  in  the  inquiry- 
room.  From  working  in  the  inquiry-rooms  he  began  to  address 
meetings. 

After  some  time  Mr.  Moody  sent  him  to  continue  the  work  among 
young  men  at  places  which  he  had  visited.  In  Sunderland  alone  one 
thousand  persons  gave  in  their  names  as  converts,  the  Rev.  James 
Stalker  and  the  Rev.  John  F.  Ewing  working  with  Drummond. 
Newcastle  and  other  towns  in  which  Mr.  Moody  had  held  meetings 
were  in  turn  visited  by  the  three  Scotchmen.  "The  Sunderland 
mission  made  Drummond  a  man,"  says  Professor  Smith.  "  He  won 
from  it  not  only  the  power  of  organizing  and  leading  his  fellowmen, 
but  that  insight  into  character  and  knowledge  of  life,  on  its  lowest, 
as  on  its  highest,  levels,  that  power  of  interest  in  every  individual  he 


In  Glasgow  and  the  Scottish  Towns  205 

met,  which  so  brilliantly  distinguished  him  and  in  later  years  made 
us  who  were  his  friends  feel  as  if  his  experiences  and  his  sympathies 
were  exhaustless." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Watson  (Ian  Maclarenj  recently  made  this 
reference  to  Mr.  Moody's  relations  with  Professor  Drummond : 

"  As  soon  as  Moody  came  to  Edinburgh,  Drummond  allied  himself 
with  the  most  capable,  honest,  and  unselfish  evangelist  of  our  day, 
and  saw  strange  chapters  in  religious  life  through  the  United  King- 
dom. This  was  the  infirmary  in  which  he  learned  spiritual  diagnosis." 

W.  Robertson  Nicoll,  editor  of  "  The  British  Weekly,"  in  his  intro- 
duction to  Drummond's  "  Ideal  Life,"  speaks  as  follows  regarding 
the  awakening  in  Scotland,  and  the  relation  to  it  of  Moody  and 
Drummond : 

"  A  crisis  was  sure  to  come,  and  it  might  very  well  have  been  a 
crisis  which  would  have  broken  the  church  in  pieces.  That  it  did 
not  was  due  largely  to  the  influence  of  one  man — the  American  evan- 
gelist, Mr.  Moody.  In  1873  MF-  Moody  commenced  his  campaign  in 
the  Barclay  Free  Church,  Edinburgh.  A  few  days  before,  Drum- 
mond had  read  a  paper  to  the  Theological  Society  of  his  college  on 
'  Spiritual  Diagnosis/  in  which  he  maintained  that  preaching  was 
not  the  most  important  thing,  but  that  personal  dealing  with  those  in 
anxiety  would  yield  better  results.  In  other  words,  he  thought  that 
practical  religion  might  be  treated  as  an  exact  science.  He  had  given 
himself  to  scientific  study  with  a  view  of  standing  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Science.  Mr.  Moody  at  once  made  a  deep  impression  on 
Edinburgh,  and  attracted  the  ablest  students.  He  missed  in  this 
country  a  certain  religious  provision  for  young  men,  arid  he  thought 
that  young  men  could  best  be  moulded  by  young  men. 

"  With  his  keen  American  eye  he  perceived  that  Drummond  was 
his  best  instrument,  and  he  immediately  associated  him  in  the  work. 
It  had  almost  magical  results.  From  the  very  first  Drummond  at- 
tracted and  deeply  moved  crowds,  and  the  issue  was  that  for  two  years 
he  gave  himself  to  this  work  of  evangelism  in  England,  in  Scotland, 


206  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

and  Ireland.  During  this  period  he  came  to  know  the  life  histories 
of  young"  men  in  all  classes.  He  made  himself  a  great  speaker;  he 
knew  how  to  seize  the  critical  moment;  and  his  modesty,  his  refine- 
ment, his  gentle  and  generous  nature,  his  manliness,  and,  above  all, 
his  profound  conviction,  won  for  him  disciples  in  every  place  he 
visited.  His  companions  were  equally  busy  in  their  own  lines,  and 
in  this  way  the  Free  Church  was  saved." 


CHAPTER    XX 
IRISH  AND  ENGLISH  CITIES 

ON  the  conclusion  of  the  Scotch  mission,  efforts  were  made  to 
induce  Mr.  Moody  to  visit  London.  The  interest  awak- 
ened in  Scotland  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Christian 
public  throughout  Great  Britain,  and  it  was  felt  that  a  mission  in 
London  would  be  attended  with  marked  results.  When  asked  to 
conduct  a  mission  he  always  insisted  upon  the  necessity  for  unity 
among  the  ministers,  and  as  London  at  this  time  was  not  ready  for  a 
"  union  "  movement  among  the  representatives  of  all  denominations, 
he  decided  to  accept  the  many  urgent  invitations  to  visit  Ireland. 

His  first  mission  was  in  Belfast,  where  he  began  on  Sunday,  Septem- 
ber 6,  1874,  with  a  service  at  eight  A.M.  in  Dugall's  Square  Chapel. 
This  meeting  was  exclusively  for  Christian  workers,  and  long  before 
the  hour  nained  the  chapel  was  crowded.  Mr.  Moody  discussed  the 
necessity  of  entire  devotion  to  the  work  and  unwearied  labor  for  the 
Lord.  In  the  evening  the  third  meeting  for  the  day  was  held  in  the 
largest  church  in  the  city,  capable  of  holding  two  thousand  people, 
but  here  again  the  streets  were  crowded  with  those  unable  to  secure 
admission. 

The  daily  noon  prayer-meeting  was  begun  in  Dugall's  Square 
Chapel,  but  the  room  was  so  overcrowded  that  it  seemed  advisable 
to  adjourn  to  a  building  seating  fourteen  hundred  people.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  this  noon  meeting  became  the  centre  of  the  movement 
and  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  work  and  workers.  Evening 
meetings  began  the  first  day  in  the  Rosemary  Street  Church,  but  the 


208  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

crowds  were  so  great  and  caused  so  much  inconvenience  that  Mr. 
Moody  changed  his  plans  somewhat  and  held  a  meeting  at  two  P.M. 
exclusively  for  women,  and  a  meeting  in  the  evening  in  another 
church  for  men. 

As  the  work  went  on  the  interest  increased  rapidly.  The  audiences 
consisted  mostly  of  young  men,  and  the  number  of  strangers  who 
visited  Belfast  from  long  distances  was  very  large.  Within  ten  days 
after  the  first  meeting  the  movement  spread  to  Bangor,  ten  miles 
distant,  where  Henry  Moorehouse,  Rev.  H.  M.  Williamson,  and 
others  preached. 

Soon  after  the  meetings  began  Mr.  Moody  published  the  following 
letter,  calling  upon  the  Christians  throughout  Great  Britain  to  hold 
daily  noon  prayer-meetings : 

"  During  the  revival  of  God's  work  in  America  in  1857  and  1858, 
in  nothing  was  the  power  of  God's  Spirit  more  manifest  than  in  the 
gatherings  that  came  together  at  twelve  o'clock  in  the  day  for  prayer 
and  praise.  Many  of  the  meetings  commenced  at  that  time  are  still 
continued,  with  an  almost  constant  and  visible  result  attending  them. 

"  In  hearing  from  time  to  time  of  the  blessings  connected  with  these 
noon  prayer-meetings  in  America,  a  strong  desire  for  similar  meetings 
in  their  own  towns  has  come  to  the  hearts  of  many,  and  the  thought 
has  occurred  to  us  that  if  such  meetings  were  started  in  the  different 
towns  of  the  kingdom,  similar  to  those  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow, 
they  might  be  the  means  of  a  very  great  blessing.  Could  no  such 
meetings  be  started? — commenced  on  the  ist  of  October,  and  con- 
tinued until  January  ist,  making  three  months  of  united  prayer  for  a 
blessing  on  the  country  at  the  noontide  hour?  May  not  the  results 
be  beyond  our  estimation  ?  The  noon  prayer-meetings  at  Newcastle, 
Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow  are  still  kept  up,  and  if  God  blessed  these 
places,  as  we  believe,  in  answer  to  prayer,  is  He  not  able  and  willing 
to  bless  others  ? 

"  The  question  may  arise,  How  can  these  meetings  be  started?  I 
would  suggest  that  a  few  Christians,  clerical  or  lay,  should  get  a 


Irish  and  English  Cities  209 

suitable  room  which  will  be  comfortable  and  easy  of  access.  Then 
select  the  leader  for  each  day  a  week  in  advance,  with  a  request  that 
he  open  the  meeting  at  the  half-hour,  advertising  not  only  the  leader 
for  each  day,  but  also  the  subject  for  prayer  and  thought  at  the 
meeting. 

"  If  these  meetings  are  thrown  open  for  any  one  to  speak  or  pray 
as  he  may  feel  led,  with  an  occasional  psalm  or  hymn,  sung  from  the 
heart,  I  believe  many  would  be  glad  to  attend,  and,  doing  so,  would 
go  away  refreshed. 

"  After  starting  the  meetings  let  them  be  well  made  known ;  let  the 
notice  of  them  not  only  be  given  from  the  pulpit  and  from  the  weekly 
church  prayer-meetings,  but  also  advertised  constantly  in  the 
newspapers,  with  the  names  of  the  leaders  and  the  subject  for  the 
day. 

"  There  may  be  occasionally  a  person  who  will  take  up  more  time 
than  he  ought ;  but  if  such  a  thing  should  occur,  or  if  any  one  whose 
character  is  known  to  be  doubtful  should  be  prominent,  let  one  of  the 
brethren  go  to  such  a  one  privately  and  in  a  spirit  of  love  expostulate 
with  him. 

"  Again  I  urge,  will  not  God's  children  all  over  the  United  King- 
dom meet  at  the  noon  hour  and  unite  their  prayers  with  those  of 
Christians  in  different  towns  for  the  mighty  blessing?  He  says, 
«  Call  unto  Me,  and  I  will  answer  thee  and  show  thee  great  and  mighty 
things? 

"  Has  not  the  time  come  for  the  church  of  God  to  arise  and  call 
on  our  God  for  a  blessing?  Thousands  of  our  young  men  are  fast 
passing  to  a  drunkard's  grave,  while  many  of  our  young  women  are 
being  drawn  into  the  whirlpool  of  worldliness.  Will  not  the  fathers 
and  mothers,  if  there  is  no  one  else  to  meet,  come  together  at  the 
noontide  hour  and  ask  for  a  blessing  on  their  children  ? 

"  I  trust  there  may  be  a  united  cry  going  up  to  God  for  a  blessing 
all  over  the  land.  Surely  God  will  answer  the  cry  of  His  children. 
Shall  we  say,  '  There  are  yet  four  months,  and  then  cometh  the 


210  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

harvest,'   or  shall  we  arise  now,  and,  with  prayers,  put  in  the  sickle  and 
gather? 

"  If  He  is  with  us,  we  are  able  to  possess  the  land,  and  no  giant, 
however  great,  can  hinder." 

When  in  response  to  this  letter  the  central  noon  meeting  was  estab- 
lished in  Moorgate  Street  Hall,  London,  Mr.  Moody  sent  this 
telegram : 

"Daily  meeting  of  Belfast  sends  greeting  to  the  Christians  of 
London.  Our  prayer  is  that  the  meeting  may  become  a  great  bless- 
ing to  many.  'He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease'  " 

Open-air  meetings  were  held  on  Sunday  afternoons,  attended  by 
the  thousands  who  could  not  get  into  the  churches  or  halls.  The 
first  Sunday  Mr.  Moody  spoke  upon  the  text :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature"  following  this  by  a 
meeting  for  inquirers  only  in  the  Ulster  Hall,  the  largest  public  build- 
ing in  the  city. 

Not  the  least  gratifying  feature  of  the  Belfast  meetings  was  the 
bringing  together  of  all  evangelical  denominations.  Presbyterians, 
Episcopalians,  Methodists,  and  Baptists  mingled  without  distinction. 
One  night  in  Rosemary  Street  Church  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dickson,  of  the 
Mariners'  Episcopal  Church,  was  one  of  the  busiest  among  the  in- 
quirers, and  on  another  evening  an  Episcopal  clergyman  occupied 
the  pulpit  of  the  Eglinton  Street  Presbyterian  Church. 

At  the  close  of  the  Edinburgh  mission  it  was  said  that  fourteen 
hundred  people  had  professed  conversion.  People  who  did  not  be- 
lieve in  the  work,  however,  asserted  that  eleven  hundred  of  these 
were  women,  hinting  that  this  kind  of  thing  could  only  make  progress 
among  women  and  weak-minded  men.  When  he  arrived  in  Glasgow, 
therefore,  Mr.  Moody  made  a  special  prayer  that  he  might  be  able  to 
refute  this  notion  by  being  honored  in  the  conversion  of  young  men, 
and  this  wish  was  so  far  gratified  that  when  he  was  about  to  leave 
the  city,  and  held  a  meeting  of  those  who  believed  they  had  been 
brought  to  Christ  since  his  coming,  out  of  the  thirty-two  hundred  who 


Irish  and  English  Cities  211 

attended  sixteen  hundred  and  thirty  were  men.  Baffled  in  this  matter, 
the  enemies  of  the  work  now  found  a  new  cause  of  faultfinding.  They 
could  not  deny  that  many  men  had  been  blessed,  but  they  suggested 
that  these  were  not  of  a  class  which  most  needed  conversion — the 
abandoned  class  of  the  community.  When  coming  to  Belfast,  there- 
fore, Mr.  Moody  prayed  that  he  might  be  specially  able  to  do  good 
to  this  class.  His  prayer  had  so  far  been  answered  that  the  first  three 
converts  who  rose  to  tell  that  they  had  become  changed  men  were 
formerly  drunkards. 

An  open-air  meeting  was  held  October  8th,  one  of  the  largest  ever 
seen  in  Ireland.  Mr.  Moody  addressed  a  vast  multitude  on  the 
words:  "  I  pray  thee  have  me  excused." 

The  last  meeting  in  Belfast  was  on  the  evening  of  October  i6th. 
It  was  designed  for  those  who  had  reason  to  believe  that  they  had 
become  converted  during  the  meetings.  Admission  was  strictly  by 
ticket,  received  only  on  personal  application,  and  twenty-one  hundred 
and  fifty  tickets  were  given  out. 

Londonderry  was  next  visited.  The  meetings  were  largely  at- 
tended by  young  and  old  of  all  classes  from  this  and  surrounding  dis- 
tricts. Excursion  trains  brought  many,  while  hundreds  walked  and 
drove  many  miles.  The  attendance  steadily  increased  to  the  close, 
while  a  noticeable  feature  in  connection  with  the  meetings  was  the 
large  number  of  clergymen  present. 

The  prevailing  characteristic  of  all  the  meetings  was  intense  ear- 
nestness and  solemnity  without,  however,  any  undue  excitement. 
The  services  seemed  to  awaken  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  public  mind 
and  to  produce  a  marked  impression.  The  inquiry  meetings  after 
the  first  night  were  very  well  attended — large  numbers  remaining  for 
conversation  and  prayer  with  Mr.  Moody  and  the  Christian  workers. 

The  work  in  Dublin  had  been  preceded  by  a  general  prayer-meet- 
ing made  up  largely  of  members  of  all  evangelical  denominations  of 
the  city,  the  clergymen  working  cordially  together  without  the  least 
shade  of  envy  or  party  spirit.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Marrable,  of  the  Church 


2 1 2  The  Lite  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

of  Ireland,  presided  at  the  first  service,  supported  by  Presbyterians, 
Wesleyans,  and  others.  On  the  following  day  the  management  se- 
cured the  use  of  the  Exhibition  Palace,  the  largest  and  most  commo- 
dious building  which  had  up  to  that  time  been  placed  at  Mr.  Moody's 
disposal,  and  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  same  general  interest  was  at  once 
awakened. 

A  correspondent  of  "  The  Christian/'  of  London,  writing  at  this 
time  says : 

"  The  inhabitants  of  Dublin  are  becoming  alive  to  the  fact  that  we 
are  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  great  time  of  refreshing,  and  that  our 
gracious  God  is  working  powerfully  among  us  by  the  instrumentality 
of  these,  His  honored  servants.  Such  a  sight  has  never  been  wit- 
nessed here  as  may  now  be  seen  every  day — thousands  flocking  to  the 
prayer-meeting  and  to  the  Bible  reading,  and,  most  of  all,  to  the  even- 
ing services  in  the  great  Exhibition  Palace.  It  fills  the  heart  of  a  child 
of  God  with  deepest  emotion  to  stand  upon  the  platform  from  which 
Mr.  Moody  preaches,  and  to  cast  one's  eye  over  the  vast  concourse 
of  people  hanging  on  the  speaker's  lips  as  in  burning  words  he  dis- 
courses of  life  and  death,  and  '  Jesus  and  His  love.'  One  cannot  but 
ask  the  question,  '  What  is  the  magic  power  which  draws  together 
these  mighty  multitudes  and  holds  them  spellbound  ? '  Is  it  the 
worldly  rank  or  wealth  of  learning  or  oratory  of  the  preacher  ?  No, 
for  he  is  possessed  of  little  of  these.  It  is  the  simple  lifting  up  of  the 
cross  of  Christ — the  holding  forth  the  Lord  Jesus  before  the  eyes  of 
the  people  in  all  the  glory  of  His  Godhead,  in  all  the  simplicity  of 
His  manhood,  in  all  the  perfection  of  His  nature,  for  their  admiration, 
for  their  adoration,  for  their  acceptance. 

"  As  an  Episcopal  minister  I  am  most  thankful  to  see  so  many  of 
the  dear  brethren  in  my  own  church,  as  well  as  of  the  other  evan- 
gelical churches,  attending  and  taking  part  in  these  happy  services. 
May  each  of  us  receive  a  blessing,  and  in  turn  be  made  a  blessing 
to  our  flocks.  An  able  and  godly  minister  stated  a  day  or  two  ago 
that  by  attendance  at  these  services  he  seemed  to  have  returned  to  the 


it     I 


Irish  and  English  Cities  215 

'  freshness  of  his  spiritual  youth,'  a  sentiment  worthy  of  a  noble  man 
and  a  generous  heart." 

The  active  cooperation  of  the  Episcopalians  and  the  respect  and 
tacit  sympathy  manifested  by  some  of  the  Roman  Catholics  were 
notable  features  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  in  Ireland  at  this  time.  The 
leading  Roman  Catholic  paper  of  the  city  gave  full  information  re- 
specting the  work,  and  was  extremely  friendly  toward  it.  In  "  The 
Nation  "  an  article  appeared  entitled  "  Fair  Play,"  in  which  the 
editor  informed  his  constituents  that  "  the  deadly  danger  of  the  age 
comes  upon  us  from  the  direction  of  Huxley  and  Darwin  and  Tyndall, 
rather  than  from  Moody  and  Sankey.  Irish  Catholics  desire  to  see 
Protestants  deeply  imbued  with  religious  feeling  rather  than  tinged 
with  rationalism  and  infidelity,  and  so  long  as  the  religious  services 
of  our  Protestant  neighbors  are  honestly  directed  to  quickening 
religious  thought  in  their  own  body  without  offering  aggressive  or 
intentional  insult  to  us,  it  is  our  duty  to  pay  the  homage  of  our 
respect  to  their  conscientious  convictions;  in  a  word,  to  do  as  we 
would  be  done  by." 

Mr.  Moody  now  returned  to  England,  and  visited  Manchester, 
Sheffield,  Birmingham,  and  Liverpool  with  marked  success.  In 
Manchester  particularly  he  did  much  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  After  a  stirring  appeal  for  a  building  fund  he  took  up  a 
collection  of  £1,800  for  the  purpose. 

In  speaking  of  the  definite  results  of  the  meetings  in  Manchester, 
the  Rev.  W.  Rigby  Murray  wrote  to  "  The  Christian  "  : 

"  If  one  class  has  been  blessed  more  than  another  during  these  past 
weeks,  it  has  been  the  regular  Christian  ministers.  I  am  sure  I 
voice  the  sentiment  of  all  my  brethren  who  have  thrown  themselves 
heart  and  soul  into  the  movement,  when  I  say  that  we  have  received 
nothing  less  than  a  fresh  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Our  souls  have 
been  quickened ;  our  faith  in  the  adaptation  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of 
the  blessed  God  to  the  wants  and  longings  of  the  human  spirit  has 
been  deepened;  our  sense  of  the  magnitude  and  responsibility  of  our 
13 


2 1 6  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

offices  as  Heaven's  ambassadors,  charged  with  a  message  of  reconcili- 
ation, and  love  for  the  guiltiest  of  the  guilty  and  the  vilest  of  the  vile, 
has  been  greatly  increased.  Mr.  Moody  has  demonstrated  to  us  in  a 
way  at  once  startling  and  delightful  that,  after  all,  the  grand  levers 
for  raising  souls  out  of  the  fearful  pit  and  the  miry  clay  are  just  the 
doctrines  which  our  so-called  advanced  thinkers  are  trying  to  per- 
suade the  Christian  world  to  discard  as  antiquated  and  impotent. 
These  are,  the  doctrine  of  the  atoning  death  of  Jesus  Christ;  the  doc- 
trine of  a  living,  loving,  personal  Saviour,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  new 
birth  by  the  Spirit  and  the  Word  of  Almighty  God. 

"  One  of  the  ablest  ministers  at  the  noon  prayer-meeting  on  the 
last  day  of  the  year  solemnly  declared  that,  whereas  the  first  of  these 
cardinal  verities  had  not  been  fully  realized  by  him  before  these 
services  commenced,  he  now  felt  it  to  be  a  spring  of  joy  and  satis- 
faction to  his  soul  such  as  language  could  hardly  express.  And  then 
how  shall  I  speak  of  the  gladness  which  filled  our  hearts  as  we  heard, 
almost  from  day  to  day,  of  conversions  in  our  congregations,  of 
parents  rejoicing  over  sons  and  daughters  brought  to  Jesus,  of  young 
men  consecrating  their  manhood  and  strength  to  God,  and  of  con- 
verts offering  themselves  for  all  departments  of  Christian  service  ?  If 
our  dear  friend  Mr.  Moody  had  accomplished  nothing  more  than  the 
quickening  of  the  ministers  of  this  great  centre  of  population  and  the 
stirring  us  up  to  greater  devotion  to  our  glorious  calling  as  laborers 
together  with  God,  his  visit  would  not  have  been  in  vain.  Give  us  a 
revived  ministry  and  we  shall  soon  see  a  revived  church." 

"  What  is  to  be  done  for  the  unsaved  masses?  "  Mr.  Moody  asked 
while  in  Sheffield.  In  answering  his  own  inquiry  he  said  that  he  had 
found  a  spiritual  famine  in  England  such  as  he  had  never  dreamed  of. 
"  Here,  for  instance,  in  this  town  of  Sheffield,"  he  said,  "  I  am  told 
that  there  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people  who  not  only 
never  go  near  a  place  of  worship,  but  for  whom  there  is  actually  no 
church  accommodation  provided,  even  if  they  were  willing  to  take 
advantage  of  it.  It  seems  to  me  if  there  be  upon  God's  earth  one 


Irish  and  English  Cities  217 

blacker  sight  than  these  thousands  of  Christless  and  graceless  souls, 
it  is  the  thousands  of  dead  and  slumbering  Christians  living  in  their 
very  midst,  rubbing  shoulders  with  them  every  day  upon  the  streets, 
and  never  so  much  as  lifting  up  a  little  finger  to  warn  them  of  death 
and  eternity  and  judgment  to  come.  Talk  of  being  sickened  at  the 
sight  of  the  world's  degradation,  ah !  let  those  of  us  who  are  Christians 
hide  our  faces  because  of  our  own,  and  pray  God  to  deliver  us  from 
the  guilt  of  the  world's  blood.  I  believe  that  if  there  is  one  thing 
which  pierces  the  Master's  heart  with  unutterable  grief,  it  is  not  the 
world's  iniquity,  but  the  Church's  indifference." 

He  then  argued  that  every  Christian  man  and  woman  should  feel 
that  the  question  was  not  one  for  ministers  and  elders  and  deacons 
alone,  but  for  them  as  well.  "  It  is  not  enough,"  he  said,  "  to  give 
alms;  personal  service  is  necessary.  I  may  hire  a  man  to  do  some 
work,  but  I  can  never  hire  a  man  to  do  my  work.  Alone  before  God 
I  must  answer  for  that,  and  so  must  we  all." 

On  the  last  day  of  the  old  year — 1874 — the  meetings  at  Sheffield 
were  begun.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  Temperance  Hall  at 
nine  P.M.,  beginning  with  the  new  hymn,  afterward  so  famous,  written 
by  Dr.  Horatius  Bonar : 

"  Rejoice  and  be  glad,  the  Redeemer  has  come." 

Just  before  the  hour  of  midnight  Mr.  Moody  asked  all  those  who 
desired  the  prayers  of  Christians  to  rise.  For  a  time  none  were  will- 
ing to  do  so,  but  soon  a  few  stood  up,  and  the  Christians  were  asked 
to  pray  for  them.  Just  then  the  bells  began  to  ring  in  the  new  year, 
and  with  a  prayer  by  Mr.  Moody  one  of  the  most  solemn  meetings 
of  the  series  was  closed. 

Following  the  Sheffield  mission  Mr.  Moody  held  a  two  weeks' 
series  of  meetings  in  Birmingham.  The  Town  Hall,  Carr's  Lane 
Chapel,  and  Bingley  Hall  were  found  none  too  large  for  the  audiences 
which  attended.  During  the  first  eight  days  of  their  stay  in  that 
city  the  total  attendance  at  the  three  halls  was  estimated  at  one  hun- 


2ig  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

dred  and  six  thousand.  Dr.  W.  R.  Dale  was  at  first  inclined  to  look 
with  disfavor  on  the  movement  and  stood  aloof.  As  the  interest  con- 
tinued, however,  he  became  more  impressed  and  attended  the  meet- 
ings regularly. 

"  Of  Mr.  Moody's  own  power,"  he  said,  "  I  find  it  difficult  to  speak. 
It  is  so  real  and  yet  so  unlike  the  power  of  ordinary  preachers,  that  I 
hardly  know  how  to  analyze  it.  Its  reality  is  indisputable.  Any  man 
who  can  interest  and  impress  an  audience  of  from  three  to  six  thou- 
sand people  for  half  an  hour  in  the  morning  and  for  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  in  the  afternoon,  and  who  can  interest  a  third  audience  of 
thirteen  or  fifteen  thousand  people  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  again 
in  the  evening,  must  have  power  of  some  kind.  Of  course,  some 
people  listened  without  caring  much  for  what  he  said,  but  though  I 
generally  sat  in  a  position  which  enabled  me  to  see  the  kind  of  impres- 
sion he  produced,  I  rarely  saw  many  faces  which  did  not  indicate  the 
most  active  and  earnest  interest. 

"  The  people  were  of  all  sorts,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  trades- 
men, manufacturers,  and  merchants,  young  ladies  who  had  just  left 
school,  cultivated  women,  and  rough  boys  who  knew  more  about 
dogs  and  pigeons  than  about  books.  For  a  time  I  could  not  under- 
stand it — I  am  not  sure  that  I  understand  it  now.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing Mr.  Moody's  address  was  simple,  direct,  kindly,  and  hopeful;  it 
Tiad  a  touch  of  humor  and  a  touch  of  pathos ;  it  was  lit  up  with  a  story 
or  two  that  filled  most  eyes  with  tears,  but  there  seemed  nothing  in 
it  very  remarkable.  Yet  it  told.  A  prayer-meeting  with  an  address 
at  eight  o'clock  on  a  damp,  cold  January  morning  was  hardly  the 
kind  of  thing — let  me  say  it  frankly — that  I  should  generally  regard 
as  attractive,  but  I  enjoyed  it  heartily;  it  seemed  one  of  the  happiest 
meetings  I  had  ever  attended :  there  was  warmth  and  there  was  sun- 
light in  it.  At  the  evening  meeting  the  same  day,  at  Bingley  Hall, 
I  was  still  unable  to  make  out  how  it  was  that  he  had  done  so  much 
in  other  parts  of  the  Kingdom. 

"  I  listened  with  interest,  and  I  was  again  conscious  of  a  certain 


Irish  and  English  Cities  219 

warmth  and  brightness  that  made  the  service  very  pleasant,  but  I 
could  not  see  that  there  was  much  to  impress  those  who  were  care- 
less about  religious  duty.  The  next  morning  at  the  prayer-meeting 
the  address  was  more  incisive  and  striking,  and  at  the  evening  ser- 
vice I  began  to  see  that  the  stranger  had  a  faculty  for  making  the 
elementary  truths  of  the  Gospel  intensely  clear  and  vivid.  But  it  still 
seemed  most  remarkable  that  he  should  have  done  so  much,  and  on 
Tuesday  I  told  Mr.  Moody  that  the  work  was  most  plainly  of  God, 
for  I  could  see  no  real  relation  between  him  and  what  he  had  done. 
He  laughed  cheerily,  and  said  he  should  be  very  sorry  if  it  were 
otherwise. 

"  Scores  of  us  could  preach  as  effectively  as  Mr.  Moody,  I  felt,  and 
might,  therefore,  with  God's  good  help  be  equally  successful.  In  the 
course  of  a  day  or  two,  however,  my  mistake  was  corrected.  His 
preaching  had  all  the  effect  of  Luther's ;  he  exulted  in  the  free  grace 
of  God.  His  joy  was  contagious.  Men  leaped  out  of  darkness  into 
light  and  lived  a  Christian  life  afterward."  Dr.  Dale  did  not  believe 
much  in  evangelists,  but  he  had  a  profound  respect  for  Mr.  Moody, 
and  considered  that  he  had  a  right  to  preach  the  Gospel,  "  because  he 
could  never  speak  of  a  lost  soul  without  tears  in  his  eyes." 

After  the  work  in  Birmingham  came  a  mission  in  Liverpool,  where 
the  blessed  experiences  of  the  preceding  weeks  were  repeated.  In 
this  case  no  suitable  auditorium  could  be  secured,  and  a  wooden  struc- 
ture one  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet  long  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  feet  wide,  capable  of  accommodating  ten  thousand  peo- 
ple, was  erected  at  great  expense.  This  was  called  Victoria  Hall. 
The  building  was  erected  in  forty  days. 

At  the  close  of  the  mission  a  convention  was  held,  where  the 
rousing  addresses  of  Dr.  Chown,  of  Bradford,  Newman  Hall,  of  Lon- 
don, Dr.  Dale,  of  Birmingham,  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  Dublin,  and  other 
men  of  large  experience  produced  a  profound  impression.  An  im- 
portant feature  of  the  convention  was  Mr.  Moody's  hour  with  the 
"  Question  Drawer." 


220  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

One  little  observed  but  important  part  of  the  meetings  was  the 
gathering  of  children  every  Saturday  at  noon  in  nearly  every  town 
and  city  visited.  This  was  usually  organized  into  a  permanent  insti- 
tution. While  they  were  still  in  Great  Britain  many  of  these  meet- 
ings were  held  every  week,  and  after  a  time  the  Edinburgh  children 
conceived  the  idea  of  opening  a  friendly  Christian  correspondence 
between  the  various  meetings  and  set  the  example  by  sending  a  letter 
to  the  children  of  Dublin. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  meetings  at  Liverpool  was  the  chil- 
dren's service,  where  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey  were  both  present. 
Some  of  the  papers  put  down  the  number  in  Victoria  Hall  at  twelve 
thousand,  with  an  overflow  meeting  of  about  two  thousand  in  the 
Henglers  Circus.  Mr.  Moody  gave  an  address  founded  on  a  book 
with  four  leaves,  black,  red,  white,  and  gold,  a  sort  of  running  inter- 
change of  simple  yet  searching  questions  and  answers.  Responses 
were  very  promptly  given.  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  was  especially  en- 
joyed by  the  young  people,  who  joined  in  the  choruses  with  great 
heartiness. 

Mr.  Moody  made  an  impressive  appeal  in  Victoria  Hall  to  mer- 
chants, employers,  and  friends  of  young  men,  the  meeting  being  in 
connection  with  the  special  appeal  for  funds  in  behalf  of  the  new 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building.  The  audience  was  one 
seldom  seen  even  in  Liverpool.  There  were  men  of  very  different  be- 
liefs and  nationalities:  High  Churchmen,  Broad  Churchmen,  Low 
Churchmen,  Orangemen,  Wesleyans,  Unitarians,  Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, Roman  Catholics,  Jews,  Greeks,  Spiritualists,  and  others. 
Different  phases  of  commercial  life  were  represented.  There  were 
present  also  clergymen;  town  councillors,  Liberal  and  Tory;  leading 
members  of  the  Dock  Board  and  the  Select  Vestry,  millionaire  ship- 
owners, dealers  in  every  kind  of  produce,  timber  merchants,  sugar 
merchants,  tea  merchants,  corn  merchants,  provision  merchants, 
brokers,  shopkeepers,  and  many  women. 

When  Mr.  Moody  rose  to  speak  he  said  that  he  was  often  asked 


Irish  and  English  Cities  221 

whether  he  believed  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  He 
wanted  to  say  that  he  did  with  all  his  heart.  Because  they  did  not 
have  Associations  in  the  days  of  the  fathers,  he  said,  a  great  many 
churches  now  thought  they  were  not  needed,  but  that  was  no  fair 
criterion. 

"  Fifty  or  one  hundred  years  ago  young  men  lived  at  home. 
They  lived  in  a  country  home,  and  did  not  come  to  these  large  cities 
and  centres  of  commerce  as  they  do  now.  If  they  did  come,  their 
employers  took  a  personal  interest  in  them.  I  contend  that  they  do 
not  do  so  now !  "  and  at  this  sturdy  utterance  of  opinion  there  was 
a  subdued  but  perceptible  "  Hear,  hear !  "  from  various  parts  of  the 
hall. 

"  Since  I  have  come  to  Liverpool,"  he  added,  "  there  is  hardly  a 
night  that  in  walking  from  this  hall  to  my  hotel  I  do  not  meet  a 
number  of  young  men  reeling  through  the  streets.  They  may  not  be 
your  sons,  but  bear  in  mind,  my  friend,  they  are  somebody's  sons. 
They  are  worth  saving.  These  young  men  who  come  to  large  cities 
want  somebody  to  take  an  interest  in  them.  I  contend  that  no  one 
can  do  this  so  well  as  the  Christian  Association.  Some  ministers 
claim  that  Associations  are  doing  the  church  harm — they  draw  young 
men  away  from  the  church.  That  is  a  mistake.  They  feed  the 
church;  they  are  the  handmaids  of  the  church.  They  are  not  tearing 
down  the  church;  they  are  drawing  men  into  it.  I  know  no  institu- 
tion which  helps  to  draw  churches  so  much  together  as  these  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations." 

Later,  on  the  completion  of  the  building  for  which  Mr.  Moody  had 
made  so  strong  a  plea,  he  was  requested  by  Alexander  Balfour,  the 
president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Liverpool,  to 
place  the  memorial  tablet  of  the  new  structure,  which  bears  the  in- 
scription :  "  This  memorial  stone  was  laid  by  D.  L.  Moody,  of  Chi- 
cago, March  2,  1875." 

One  who  was  present  at  the  Liverpool  meetings  thus  describes  the 
deep  impression  made  upon  the  public : 


222  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Men  who  wrote  and  spoke  against  the  movement,  men  who 
laughed  at  it,  went  to  hear  and  came  away  with  changed  thoughts — 
six  thousand  people  at  the  midday  prayer-meeting,  six  thousand  at 
the  afternoon  Bible  lecture,  and  ten  thousand  at  the  evening  meeting, 
with  the  inquiry-rooms  full,  is  something  that  even  '  The  Exchange  ' 
has  to  admit.  But  beyond  this  there  is  the  mighty  power  of  God's 
spirit,  working  and  acting,  which  no  tables  can  register,  no  numbers 
record." 

Following  Mr.  Moody,  Henry  Drummond  held  meetings  for 
young  men  in  Liverpool,  with  an  average  attendance  of  fourteen 
hundred  nightly.  Of  Mr.  Drummond  it  was  said :  "  His  gentleness 
is  only  surpassed  by  the  earnestness  with  which  he  carries  out  and 
controls  this  most  successful  service." 


CHAPTER    XXI 
THE  LONDON  CAMPAIGN 

MR.  MOODY  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  invitations  that  poured 
in  from  London  during  his  first  two  years  in  Great  Britain, 
for  the  spirit  of  unity  in  the  earlier  calls  that  would  indicate 
the  cooperation  of  all  denominations  was  at  first  lacking,  and  until 
this  was  assured  he  did  not  feel  that  the  time  was  ripe. 

When  he  was  in  Edinburgh  Hugh  M.  Matheson,  a  London  busi- 
ness man,  made  the  trip  to  the  Scottish  metropolis  to  hear  him.  It 
was  the  last  day  of  the  meetings ;  there  was  the  usual  large  attendance, 
and  Mr.  Matheson  found  no  opportunity  to  present  the  invitation 
that  he  had  brought  with  him.  Afterward  he  went  to  Thurso,  where 
they  had  a  delightful  interview.  They  discussed  London  and  the  best 
means  of  preparing  for  a  mission  there,  should  he  see  his  way  to 
undertake  it. 

During  all  the,  missions  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  as  well  as  in  the 
large  manufacturing  centres,  the  work  had  been  fully  reported  in 
"  The  Christian,"  of  London.  Thousands  of  copies  of  this  paper  had 
been  sent  to  the  clergymen  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  movement  had 
been  closely  followed  by  the  Christian  public.  Appreciating  the 
benefit  of  such  a  medium,  Mr.  Moody  wished  to  distribute  the  paper 
still  more  widely  over  England,  and  Mr.  Matheson  agreed  to  raise 
a  fund  of  £2,000,  to  circulate  the  paper  gratuitously  for  three 
months  to  thirty  thousand  clergymen  and  nonconformist  ministers 
all  over  England.  The  accounts  which  it  gave  of  the  remarkable 
movement  in  Scotland  stimulated  the  desire  for  a  similar  work  in 
London. 


224  The  Life  ot  Dwight  L-  Moody 

While  the  evangelists  were  in  Dublin  the  final  arrangements  were 
made,  and  the  central  noon  prayer-meeting  at  Moorgate  Street  Hall, 
London,  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

"That,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Moody,  it  is 
hereby  determined  to  arrange  for  special  evangelistic  work  in  London 
during  four  months  of  next  year;  namely,  March,  April,  May,  and 
June;  that  a  fund  of  not  less  than  £10,000  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  treasurer,  and  that  men  of  distinguished  evangelistic  gifts 
heartily  interested  in  the  work  be  invited  not  only  from  other  parts 
of  England,  but  also  from  America,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  to  assist 
in  the  movement." 

Four  centres  were  selected  for  preaching-places  :  Agricultural 
Hall  at  Islington  in  North  London,  seating  thirteen  thousand  seven 
hundred  persons,  with  standing  room  for  four  or  five  thousand  more ; 
Bow  Road  Hall  in  the  extreme  east,  with  ten  thousand  sittings;  the 
Royal  Opera  House  in  the  West  End,  in  the  aristocratic  quarter  of 
Westminster,  and  Victoria  Theatre  in  the  south,  and,  later,  Camber- 
well  Green  Hall. 

The  need  for  evangelistic  services  in  London  at  that  time  may  be 
gathered  from  statistics  which  were  published  shortly  before  Mr. 
Moody  went  to  the  metropolis.  The  promoters  of  special  services 
in  theatres  and  music  halls  made  the  following  statement  concerning 
the  city's  need,  in  the  report  of  their  fifteenth  series  of  services : 

"  117,000  habitual  criminals  are  on  its  police  register,  increasing  at 
an  average  of  30,000  per  annum ; 

"  More  than  one-third  of  all  the  crime  in  the  country  is  committed 
in  London; 

"  23,000  persons  live  in  its  common  lodging-houses; 

"  Its  many  beer  shops  and  gin  palaces  would,  if  placed  side  by 
side,  stretch  from  Charing  Cross  to  Portsmouth,  a  distance  of  73 
miles; 

"  38,000  drunkards  appear  annually  before  its  magistrates ; 

"  It  has  as  many  paupers  as  would  occupy  every  house  in  Brighton; 


The  London  Campaign  225 

"  It  has  upward  of  a  million  habitual  neglecters  of  public  worship ; 

"  It  has  60  miles  of  shops  open  every  Lord's  day; 

"  It  has  need  of  900  new  churches  and  chapels,  and  200  additional 
city  missionaries." 

All  through  the  months  of  January  and  February  extensive  prepa- 
rations were  made  for  the  intended  meetings.  No  movement  within 
the  memory  of  those  then  living  had  so  bound  together  the  clergymen 
and  Christian  workers  of  various  denominations.  Had  the  meetings 
not  been  held,  the  preparations  for  them  would,  in  themselves,  have 
been  a  great  blessing. 

On  Friday,  February  5,  1875,  Free  Masons'  Hall  in  London  was 
crowded  with  ministers  and  other  Christian  workers  from  all  parts 
of  London  and  its  suburbs  to  confer  with  Moody  in  reference  to  the 
services  soon  to  begin.  There  were  nearly  two  thousand  persons 
present  at  one  of  the  largest  and  most  varied  meetings  of  the  minis- 
terial order  ever  held  for  any  purpose  in  England.  Representative 
men  from  all  the  evangelical  churches  were  there,  and  there  was 
besides  a  contingent  from  the  ritualistic  clergy,  who  had  scarcely 
been  expected.  Prebendary  Auriol  and  Mr.  Kitto  headed  a  strong 
phalanx  of  evangelical  churchmen;  Dr.  Moffat,  Dr.  Stoughton,  Mr. 
Hannay,  Dr.  Llewelyn  Bevan,  and  Mr.  Braden  were  among  the 
Congregational  ministers  who  answered  to  the  summons ;  the  vener- 
able Charles  Stovel  was  one  of  the  many  Baptists ;  the  Presbytery  sent 
a  formidable  array,  among  whom  were  Doctors  Edmonds,  Fraser, 
Dykes,  Paterson,  and  Thain  Davidson;  while  the  various  branches 
of  the  great  Methodist  body  attended  in  great  numbers. 

The  chair  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Stone,  of  Blackheath,  a  London 
merchant.  Mr.  Moody  made  a  brief  statement.  There  were,  he 
said,  many  obstacles  to  the  proposed  work  in  London,  which  could 
be  put  out  of  the  way  if  they  could  only  meet  together  and  come  to 
an  understanding.  He  found  some  of  the  very  best  men  kept  out  of 
the  work  because  they  heard  this  and  that.  Perhaps  some  things 
they  heard  were  true  and  some  not;  and  if  they  only  had  a  "  fair  and 


226  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

square  "  understanding,  he  thought  it  would  be  helpful.  He  spoke 
frankly  to  his  new  friends,  telling  them  that  the  great  difficulty  with 
which  they  had  to  contend  was  prejudice,  and  he  urged  the  ministers 
to  come  into  sympathy  with  the  work  at  the  beginning,  and  invited 
questions  from  every  one. 

He  spoke  of  the  prejudice  of  some  people  against  the  inquiry-room, 
and  explained  in  detail  the  method,  that  those  who  were  present 
might  judge  for  themselves.  A  charge  of  undue  excitement  in  the 
meetings  had  been  made.  This  was  also  erroneous.  Very  often  in 
a  room  with  a  hundred  inquirers  one  could  hear  scarcely  a  whisper. 
Concerning  the  sale  of  the  hymn-books  he  said  : 

"  A  great  deal  has  been  said  about  our  making  a  fine  thing  finan- 
cially out  of  this  movement  from  the  sale  of  the  hymn-books,  organs, 
etc.  Now  I  desire  to  say  that  up  to  the  ist  of  January  we  received 
a  royalty  from  the  publishers  of  our  hymn-books,  but  from  that  date, 
when  the  solo  book  was  enlarged,  we  determined  not  to  receive  any- 
thing from  the  sale,  and  have  requested  the  publishers  to  hand  over 
the  royalty  upon  all  our  hymn-books  to  one  of  your  leading  citizens, 
Mr.  H.  M.  Matheson,  who  will  devote  the  same  to  such  charitable 
objects  as  may  be  decided  upon. 

"  In  regard  to  the  organ  question,  I  want  to  say,  once  for  all,  that 
we  are  not  selling  organs — that  is  not  our  mission,  nor  are  we  agents 
for  the  sale  of  organs ;  nor  do  we  receive  a  commission  or  compen- 
sation in  any  way  whatever  from  any  person  or  persons  for  the  organ 
that  Mr.  Sankey  uses  at  our  meetings. 

"  I  hope  now  that  no  one  here  will  think  that  I  have  made  these 
statements  to  create  financial  sympathy  in  our  behalf.  We  do  not 
want  your  money;  we  want  your  confidence,  and  we  want  your  sym- 
pathy and  prayers,  and  as  our  one  object  in  coming  here  is  to  preach 
Christ,  we  believe  we  shall  have  them,  and  that  with  God's  blessing 
we  shall  see  many  brought  into  His  fold.  If  we  make  mistakes,  come 
and  tell  us.  Then  I  shall  not  fear  for  the  result." 

Many  questions  were  asked  Mr.  Moody,  and  many  misstatements 


The  London  Campaign  227 

corrected.  One  clergyman  wished  to  know  whether  the  work  had 
the  effect  of  estranging  people  from  the  communion.  If  so,  he  could 
not  uphold  the  mission  without  being  false  to  his  ordination  vows  and 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Mr.  Moody  replied  that  his  one  object  was  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  a  statement  which  was  greeted  with  cheers. 

The  next  questioner  wanted  to  know  if  it  were  true  that  a  Roman 
Catholic  took  the  chair  at  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  in  Ireland. 
Mr.  Moody  said  that  he  was  not  responsible  for  the  chairman,  and 
added,  amid  laughter,  that  his  meetings  were  attended  by  "  Jew, 
Greek,  and  barbarian." 

One  clergyman  asked  Mr.  Moody  to  print  his  creed  before  he  came 
to  London. 

"  My  creed  is  in  print,"  was  the  ready  response. 

"  Where?  "  was  the  general  inquiry,  as  many  people  reached  for 
their  note-books. 

"  In  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,"  was  the  reply. 

His  answer  was  entirely  satisfactory,  and  there  was  no  further  ques- 
tion as  to  Mr.  Moody's  orthodoxy. 

The  opening  meeting  at  Agricultural  Hall  was  held  on  Tuesday 
evening,  March  Qth,  and  the  noon  meeting  at  Exeter  Hall  on  the 
following  day.  The  house-to-house  visitation  committee  had  been 
actively  at  work,  and  in  the  noon  prayer-meeting  at  Moorgate  Street 
Hall  there  was  a  decided  increase  of  interest  and  fervor.  Prayer- 
meetings  had  also  been  held  in  Agricultural  Hall  for  a  month,  at- 
tended by  more  than  a  thousand  people. 

The  campaign  was  an  unquestionable  success  from  the  outset. 
Many  of  the  leading  evangelical  ministers  and  laymen  of  London  were 
on  the  platform  at  the  first  service.  The  hall  was  quickly  filled,  seats 
and  standing  room,  and  thousands  went  away  disappointed,  though 
seventeen  thousand  people  were  crowded  into  the  great  building. 

Mr.  Moody  won  all  hearts  in  the  very  beginning  by  asking  the  vast 
audience  to  "  praise  God  for  what  He  was  going  to  do  in  London." 
He  added  that  he  had  received  despatches  from  many  cities  in  Great 


228  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Britain  saying  that  the  Christians  were  praying  for  London,  and  then 
he  prayed  with  great  fervor  that  a  blessing  might  come  upon  the  city, 
thanking  God  for  the  spirit  of  unity  among  the  ministers  and  praying 
that  there  might  be  no  strife  among  them. 

In  his  address  he  expressed  his  early  fear  that  if  he  should  come  to 
London  many  people  would  be  led  to  trust  too  much  to  the  excite- 
ment of  the  great  meetings,  at  the  risk  of  having  their  eyes  turned 
away  from  God.  Those  who  had  come  expecting  to  hear  a  new  Gos- 
pel would  be  disappointed.  He  had  the  same  old  story  to  tejl  that  the 
ministers  whom  he  saw  before  him  had  preached  and  were  preaching 
in  their  churches  and  chapels.  Referring  to  the  men,  weak  in  the 
estimation  of  the  world,  whom  the  Lord  had  used  to  do  a  great  work 
for  humanity,  he  said  that  it  was  not  good  preachers  that  were 
wanted  in  London,  for  probably  at  no  time  had  the  city  possessed 
so  many  great  preachers  as  then. 

The  belief  of  every  individual  Christian  should  be,  not  that  "  God 
can  use  me,"  but  "  He  will  use  me."  What  was  wanted  was  that 
they  should  be  out  and  out  on  the  Lord's  side,  heart  and  brain  on 
fire  for  Him,  ready  to  use  every  power  and  every  opportunity  for 
service.  He  also  spoke  of  the  necessity  for  perfect  unity  in  carrying 
on  the  work,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  ministers,  Sabbath-school 
superintendents,  teachers,  and  parents  would  all  be  found  working 
and  praying  for  the  success  of  the  movement. 

The  first  Sunday  afternoon  the  great  hall  was  nearly  filled  with 
women,  and  in  the  evening  it  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity  with 
men.  In  order  to  reach  different  classes  of  people,  Mr.  Moody  began 
to  repeat  his  afternoon  sermon  in  the  evening,  in  the  hope  that  those 
who  came  to  one  service  would  stay  away  from  the  other  to  make 
room  for  different  audiences. 

The  noon  meetings  in  Exeter  Hall  were  crowded  day  after  day,  and 
reports  of  the  work  throughout  the  Kingdom  were  received  and 
many  requests  made  for  prayer.  But  the  enthusiasm  was  not  con- 
fined to  Mr.  Moody's  meetings.  At  the  East  End  Tabernacle  the 


The  London  Campaign  229 

Rev.  Archibald  G.  Brown  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  two  thousand 
members  of  his  evening  congregation  remain  to  an  after-meeting, 
and  instead  of  the  churches  and  chapels  declining  in  interest,  as  it 
was  feared,  they  were  filled  as  they  had  not  been  before.  The  best  of 
the  work  was  in  the  inquiry-room,  where  earnest  workers  found 
plenty  of  scope  for  their  zeal  and  more  for  their  wisdom  and  tact. 

From  the  outset  attention  was  directed  to  Christians,  Mr.  Moody 
saying  that  "  he  would  rather  wake  up  a  slumbering  church  than  a 
slumbering  world,"  and  that  "  the  man  who  does  the  most  good  in 
the  world  is  not  the  man  who  works  himself,  but  the  man  who  sets 
others  to  work."  He  was  able  to  help  people  more  in  a  few  minutes 
in  the  inquiry-room  than  he  could  in  a  whole  sermon. 

"  You  have  had  enough  of  pulpit  preaching,"  he  said,  "  and  very 
good  preaching  too;  what  we  want  now  is  hand-to-hand  work,  per- 
sonal effort,  individuals  going  to  people  and  pressing  on  them  the 
claims  of  Christ." 

One  woman,  eighty-five  years  old,  asked  for  a  part  in  the  house-to- 
house  .visitation.  She  said: 

"  I  must  do  something;  I  am  getting  old,  but  I  will  take  a  district." 

"  Only  think  of  that,"  was  Mr.  Moody's  comment.  "  This  old  lady, 
who  has  lived  fifteen  years  on  borrowed  time,  has  taken  a  district  and 
started  out." 

She  went  to  one  house  where  the  people  were  Roman  Catholics, 
and  wanted  them  to  take  a  leaflet  announcing  the  meetings,  but  they 
pushed  it  away. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  if  you  won't  read  it  I  will  read  it  to  you,"  and 
she  did. 

"  Of  course  they  couldn't  put  out  a  woman  eighty-five  years  old," 
said  Mr.  Moody.  "  Nobody  could  think  of  doing  that.  It  stirred 
me  greatly.  It  ought  to  shame  us  all.  Every  young  man  and 
woman  who  is  not  at  work  ought  to  be  ashamed."  He  concluded  his 
address  by  calling  for  a  thousand  men  and  women  who  would  join 
him  in  an  effort  to  win  one  soul  to  Christ  during  the  week,  and  in 


230  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

answer  to  his  question :  "  Who  will  join  me?  "  the  greater  part  of  the 
congregation  stood  up. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Moody  was  entirely  free  from 
criticism.  The  infidel  in  the  street  and  an  occasional  editor  in  his 
office  vented  his  spite  against  religion  by  attacking  those  who  came 
to  proclaim  it.  As  the  crowds  gathered  for  the  opening  service  false 
handbills  were  distributed,  pretending  to  describe  the  sermons  that 
were  about  to  be  delivered. 

The  "  Vanity  Fair  "  outside  the  great  hall  in  the  evening  has  been 
described  by  an  eye-witness : 

"  Many  policemen  to  keep  the  way;  multitudes  of  young  men  full 
of  fun  and  joking;  multitudes  also  of  evil  women  and  girls,  gaily 
dressed,  joining  in  the  ribaldry;  the  two  together  forming  a  mass  of 
well-dressed  but  disreputable  blackguardism,  proving  to  demonstra- 
tion that  the  American  evangelists  had  come  at  last  exactly  where 
they  were  sorely  needed.  Omnibus-men,  cabmen,  tramcar-men, 
board-men,  and  loafers  of  every  description  took  part  in  the  universal 
carnival.  Oaths,  jests,  slang,  and  mockery  were  all  let  loose  together; 
but  not  one  serious  face,  not  one  thoughtful  countenance,  not  an 
idea  of  God's  judgment  or  of  eternity  in  all  the  vast  changing  multi- 
tude outside. 

"  After  the  service  inside  had  ended,  and  partly  during  its  con- 
tinuance, detachments  of  choirs  belonging  to  the  neighboring  mis- 
sions had  stationed  themselves  near  the  hall  and  occupied  themselves 
in  singing  the  '  Songs  and  Solos '  and  delivering  addresses  of  the 
briefest  character.  But  all  seemed  in  vain;  the  very  spirit  of  mockery 
seemed  to  possess  the  great  majority.  There  was  nothing  like  spite- 
ful opposition,  much  less  of  interference;  the  singers  and  speakers 
were  merely  regarded  as  amiable  enthusiasts,  who  had  rashly  deliv- 
ered themselves  to  the  merciless  mockery  of  a  London  mob." 

The  mob  was  not  the  only  form  of  opposition.  "  The  Saturday 
Review  "  expressed  surprise  that  "  so  many  persons  go  to  hear  the 
Americans.  As  for  Moody,  he  is  simply  a  ranter  of  the  most  vulgar 


MR.  MOODY  IN  1884. 

From  an  oil  painting  by  Clifford.     Presented  to  Mrs.   Moody  in  London  at  close  of  second 
British  campaign. 


The  London  Campaign  233 

type.  His  mission  appears  to  be  to  degrade  religion  to  the  level  of 
the  '  penny  gaff.'  " 

"  The  New  York  Times,"  at  that  time,  was  nearly  as  strong  in  its 
opposition  to  the  evangelists.  In  its  issue  of  June  22,  1875,  in  an 
editorial  column,  this  statement  occurred: 

"  We  are  credibly  informed  that  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  were 
sent  to  England  by  Mr.  Barnum  as  a  matter  of  speculation." 

The  London  society  papers  devoted  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  Mr. 
Moody  on  this  visit.  Caricatures  of  him  and  Mr.  Sankey  appeared 
in  "  Vanity  Fair."  The  tone  of  the  articles  and  paragraphs  describing 
the  meetings  was  at  first  contemptuous,  but  as  eminent  leaders  of 
society  began  to  attend,  it  became  more  sympathetic  and  respectful. 
"  Mr.  Moody,"  says  one  writer,  "  is  a  heavy-looking  individual,  with 
a  nasal  twang  and  a  large  fund  of  (to  English  ears)  slightly  irreverent 
anecdote." 

Curious  reports  of  Mr.  Moody's  provincial  tour  went  before  him  to 
London.  "  The  World  "  said :  "  In  many  large  English  towns  they 
(the  evangelists)  had  the  satisfaction  of  throwing  females  into  con- 
vulsions, and  have  been  lucky  enough  to  consign  several  harmless 
idiots  to  neighboring  lunatic  asylums."  Those  who  attended  the 
meetings  bore  testimony  that  this  element  of  violent  excitement  was 
totally  absent  from  them. 

A  penny  biography  of  Mr.  Moody  sold  widely  in  the  London 
streets  that  spring.  Everything  that  could  be  done  to  counteract 
his  influence  and  prejudice  the  public  against  him  was  attempted  by 
certain  papers.  Londoners  were  told  that,  "judged  by  the  low 
standard  of  an  American  ranter,  Mr.  Moody  is  a  third-rate  star."  His 
reading  of  Scripture  was  severely  blamed.  "  Mr.  Moody,  with  a 
jocular  familiarity  which  painfully  jarred  on  our  sense  of  the  rever- 
ential, translated  freely  passages  of  the  Bible  into  the  American  ver- 
nacular. The  grand,  simple  stories  of  Holy  Writ  were  thus  parodied 
and  burlesqued."  But  in  spite  of  all  the  hostility  of  the  press,  it  soon 
became  manifest,  not  only  that  the  "common  people  heard  him 
14 


234  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

gladly,"  but  that  society  itself  was  moved  and  deeply  impressed  by 
his  preaching.  One  of  the  first  to  attend  the  meetings  was  Lord 
Cairns,  then  Lord  Chancellor  in  Mr.  Disraeli's  government.  He 
occupied  a  prominent  seat  in  the  Agricultural  Hall,  Islington.  Very 
soon  nearly  all  the  leaders  of  society  had  followed  his  example.  The 
epithets  "pernicious  humbugs,"  "crack-brained  Yankee  evangelists," 
"  pestilential  vermin,"  "  abbots  of  unreason,"  with  which  the  anti- 
Christian  press  pelted  the  preachers,  gave  way  to  much  more  polite 
language  when  the  highest  in  the  land  were  numbered  among  their 
hearers. 

The  London  papers  had  asserted  that  Moody  and  Sankey  were 
financially  interested  in  the  sale  of  the  cheap  photographs  sold  on  the 
streets,  although  these  were  uniformly  little  more  than  caricatures. 
A  photographer  in  one  of  the  largest  provincial  towns,  seeing  these 
criticisms,  wrote  a  letter  to  "  The  Times  "  stating  that  he  had  offered 
Moody  and  Sankey  £1,000  (about  $5,000)  if  they  would  sit  for  a 
photograph  and  allow  him  to  copyright  it,  but  that  the  offer  was 
refused.  The  publication  of  this  letter  had  a  remarkable  effect  in 
establishing  confidence. 

In  striking  contrast  with  this  flippant  attitude  was  a  leading  article 
in  "  The  London  Times,"  which  referred  pleasantly  to  Mr.  Sankey's 
singing,  and  then  added: 

"  But  people  would  not  come  together  for  weeks  merely  to  hear 
expressive  singing,  nor  to  yield  to  the  impulse  of  association.  They 
come  to  hear  Mr.  Moody,  and  the  main  question  is :  What  had  he  to 
say?  Is  any  Christian  church  in  this  metropolis  in  a  position  to  say 
that  it  can  afford  to  dispense  with  any  vigorous  effort  to  rouse  the 
mass  of  people  to  a  more  Christian  life?  The  congregations  which 
are  to  be  seen  in  our  churches  and  chapels  are  but  a  fraction  of  the 
hundreds  and  thousands  around  them,  of  whom  multitudes  are  living 
but  little  better  than  a  mere  animal  existence.  If  any  considerable 
proportion  of  them  can  be  aroused  to  the  mere  desire  for  something 
higher,  an  immense  step  is  gained;  if  the  churches  are  really  a  higher 


The  London  Campaign  235 

influence  still,  Mr.  Moody  will  at  least  have  prepared  them  better 
material  to  work  on." 

A  striking  incident  connected  with  this  campaign  was  the  publica- 
tion of  a  letter  written  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  a  friend, 
in  which  he  said  he  took  the  deepest  interest  in  the  Moody  and 
Sankey  movement,  and  that,  having  found  an  opportunity  for  con- 
sulting some  of  his  Episcopal  friends  on  the  subject,  his  own  view  was 
very  much  strengthened  by  what  he  heard  from  them ;  that  the  great 
truths  of  the  Gospel  should  be  urged  on  the  people's  consciences  was 
no  innovation,  and  he  heartily  rejoiced  that  the  movement  was  con- 
ducted on  so  great  a  scale  and  with  such  apparent  success.  At  the 
same  time  he  made  it  clear  that  he  did  not  officially  sanction 
the  work. 

"  Many  of  our  parochial  clergy,  as  you  are  aware,"  he  wrote,  "  have 
been  present  at  the  meetings  in  question,  and  those  who  have  stood 
aloof  have  not  done  so  from  any  want  of  interest,  but  because  they 
have  felt  that,  greatly  as  they  rejoiced  that  simple  gospel  truths  were 
urged  on  their  people's  consciences,  there  were  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  movement  to  which  they  could  not  consistently  give  their 
approval.  If  there  is  a  difficulty  in  the  clergy's  giving  their  official 
sanction  to  the  work,  you  will  at  once  see  that  in  the  case  of  the 
bishops  there  are  greater  difficulties  in  the  way  of  any  direct  sanction, 
which,  coming  from  them,  could  not  but  be  regarded  as  official  and 
authoritative;  and  I  confess  that  the  objections  I  originally  felt  still 
remain  in  full  force  now  that  we  have  had  time  to  examine  and  to 
learn  from  various  quarters  the  exact  nature  of  the  movement. 

"  But  looking  to  the  vast  field  that  lies  before  us,  and  the  over- 
whelming difficulties  of  contending  with  the  mass  of  positive  sin  and 
careless  indifference  which  resists  on  all  sides  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel,  I,  for  my  part,  rejoice  that,  whether  regularly  or  irregularly, 
whether  according  to  the  Divine  Scriptural  and  perfect  way  or  im- 
perfectly, with  certain  admixtures  of  human  error,  Christ  is  preached 
and  sleeping  consciences  are  aroused." 


236  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

The  inquiry  meetings  in  connection  with  the  Agricultural  Hall  ser- 
vices were  held  in  St.  Mary's  Hall,  a  large  concert-room.  Mr.  Moody 
divided  the  inquirers,  leaving  the  women  in  the  basement  and 
sending  the  men  into  the  gallery,  and  directed  the  •  workers  to 
divide  in  the  same  way.  All  around  the  gallery  were  men  in 
twos  and  threes,  to  the  number  of  two  or  three  hundred — each  couple 
or  three  separated  from  their  neighbors,  and  earnestly  engaged  in 
their  own  work,  without  taking  any  notice  of  those  near  and 
around. 

Here,  for  instance,  was  a  couple  discussing  a  difficulty  in  the  way ; 
there  another  couple  earnestly  reading  passages  of  God's  Word; 
next  was  one  pleading  with  another ;  here  a  worker  was  praying  for 
the  light  to  come;  there  another,  pressing  the  inquirer  to  pray  for 
himself,  and  others  praying  earnestly  together. 

Bow  Road  Hall,  in  the  East  End  of  London,  was  the  second  place 
of  meeting.  It  was  patterned  somewhat  after  Bingley  Hall  in  Bir- 
mingham. An  American  spending  a  few  weeks  in  London  at  the 
time  sent  this  description  of  the  building  and  one  of  the  meetings 
in  it  to  a  home  paper: 

"  The  Bow  Road  Hall  is  a  capacious  frame  building,  sheathed  with 
corrugated  iron,  which  was  erected  for  these  meetings  in  the  East 
End  of  London ;  it  is  in  easy  reach  of  a  vice-infected,  poverty-stricken 
district  which  Mr.  Moody  thinks  '  comes  nearer  hell  than  any  other 
place  on  earth.'  A  thick  carpeting  of  sawdust,  laid  upon  the  ground, 
forms  the  floor.  It  is  seated  with  cane-bottomed  chairs,  of  which,  I 
am  told,  it  holds  over  nine  thousand.  Scripture  texts  in  white  letters 
two  feet  high,  on  a  background  of  red  flannel,  stretch  along  the  sev- 
eral walls.  A  choir  of  one  hundred  young  men  and  women  occupies 
a  part  of  the  platform. 

"  The  preaching  begins  at  eight  o'clock.  At  half-past  seven  every 
chair  in  the  hall  is  filled.  Late  comers,  who  cannot  be  packed  upon 
the  platform  or  find  standing  room  out  of  range  of  those  who  are 
seated,  are  turned  away  by  the  policemen  at  the  entrances.  The  choir 


The  London  Campaign  237 

fills  the  time  with  hymns  familiar  to  American  Sunday-schools  and 
prayer-meetings : 

"  'Sweet  hour  of  prayer,' 

"  'When  He  cometh,' 

"  'Come  to  the  Saviour,' 

but  mostly  unknown  here  until  Mr.  Sankey  sang  them  into  notice 
and  favor. 

"  A  Christian  cannot  look  into  the  faces  of  this  serious,  hushed, 
expectant  audience  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  people  without  being 
deeply  moved  by  the  thought  of  the  issues  that  may  hang  on  this  hour. 
Most  of  them  seem  to  belong  to  the  class  of  shopkeepers  and  thrifty 
working  people.  But  here  and  there  a  diamond  flashes  its  light  from 
richer  toilets,  while  some  of  the  faces  evidently  belong  to  the  very  low- 
est classes.  Hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  them  have  come  from 
other  quarters  of  the  city,  from  five  to  ten  miles  away.  They  sit  so 
closely  packed  that  the  men  wear  their  hats.  Ushers,  carrying  their 
tall  rods  of  office,  are  thickly  scattered  along  the  entrances  and  aisles. 
In  a  great  tent  at  the  rear  a  prayer-meeting  is  going  on  for  the  bless- 
ing of  God  on  the  evening's  service. 

"  Promptly  at  eight  Mr.  Moody  steps  out  and  plants  both  hands 
on  the  rail  that  runs  along  the  front  of  the  platform  and  forms  his 
pulpit.  He  has  grown  stout  since  leaving  America,  and  wears  a 
flowing  beard,  but  there  is  no  mistaking  the  man  as  soon  as  he  opens 
his  mouth.  He  sees  too  many  people,  he  says,  whose  faces  are  get- 
ting familiar  at  these  meetings.  '  It's  time  for  Christians  to  stop 
coming  here  and  crowding  into  the  best  seats.  It's  time  for  'em  to 
go  out  among  these  sailors  and  drunkards  and  bring  them  in  and 
give  tJiem  the  best  seats/  Mr.  Sankey  sits  at  his  cabinet  organ  close 
by — that  '  kist  o'  whistles '  which  so  scandalized  some  of  the  good 
Scotch  brethren  last  year — and  Mr.  Moody  calls  on  him  to  sing 

'"Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by.' 

It  is  plain  enough,  before  the  first  verse  is  finished,  that  this  movement 
owes  much  of  its  success  to  Mr.  Sankey.    He  has  a  voice  of  unequalled 


238  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

clearness  and  power,  which  sounds  through  the  hall  like  a  trumpet. 
Each  word  is  articulated  with  great  distinctness,  and  there  is  a  soul 
in  the  singing  that  is  something  more  and  higher  than  mere  art.  The 
hymn  tells  at  once,  as  any  one  can  see  by  the  intent  eyes  that  are 
everywhere  focussed  on  the  singer.  A  prayer  by  Mr.  Moody,  brief, 
ejaculatory,  fervent,  and  Mr.  Sankey  sings 

"  'There  were  ninety  and  nine,' 

with  great  effect.  Mr.  Moody,  aptly  turning  the  Whitsunday  com- 
memoration of  the  day  of  Pentecost  to  account,  reads  a  part  of  Peter's 
address  on  that  occasion,  and  announces  that  he  proposes  to  take  the 
same  text  and  topic — the  crucified  Christ. 

"  The  sermon  that  follows  is  simply  the  story  of  the  closing  scenes 
in  the  Saviour's  life,  beginning  with  the  gathering  of  the  little  com- 
pany of  thirteen  at  the  Last  Supper.  It  is  told  in  the  photographic 
way  of  one  who  has  studied  it  so  intently  that  the  whole  scene  stands 
out  in  clear  detail  and  intensely  real  before  him.  And  he  makes  it 
seem  very  real  and  present  to  his  audience.  There  are  Moodyish 
touches  to  the  picture,  here  and  there,  that  are  very  characteristic  and 
effective.  '  Judas  made  great  professions.  He  got  near  enough  to 
the  Son  of  God  to  kiss  him.  But  he  went  down  to  perdition.'  His 
words  tumble  over  each  other  in  the  haste  of  his  utterance.  He  has 
a  surprising  faculty  for  such  grammatical  mistakes  and  illiteracies 
as  '  The  Spirit  done  it,'  '  'Tain't  no  use/  '  Git  right  up,'  '  He  come 
to  him,'  etc.  But  these  minor  blemishes  sink  out  of  notice  in  the 
tremendous  earnestness  with  which  he  speaks.  That  is  the  preemi- 
nent characteristic  of  the  discourse.  The  noiseless,  rapt  attention 
of  the  vast  congregation  is  wonderful.  Hundreds  are  in  tears. 

"  In  the  very  midst  of  one  discourse,  and  the  height  of  its  interest, 
two  or  three  quickly  succeeding  shrieks  came  from  the  centre  of  the 
audience.  Mr.  Moody  stopped  as  if  at  a  signal,  and,  with  Sheridan- 
like  promptness,  said :  '  We'll  stand  up  and  sing, 

" '  "  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me," 


The  London  Campaign  239 

and  the  ushers  will  please  help  that  friend  out  of  the  hall.  She's 
hysterical.'  There  were  no  more  '  hysterical '  demonstrations  during 
the  evening,  and  the  congregation  scarcely  realized  that  there  had 
been  any  interruption  in  the  service. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  address,  which  was  something  less  than  an 
hour  long,  those  who  wished  to  become  Christians  were  invited  to 
stand  up,  and  several  hundred  arose.  While  they  remained  standing 
all  Christians  present  were  asked  to  rise.  Apparently  not  a  tenth  of 
the  audience  kept  their  seats  under  both  invitations.  The  congre- 
gation was  then  dismissed,  but  with  an  urgent  request  to  stay  to  the 
second  meeting,  for  conversation  and  prayer  with  inquirers.  Many 
remained,  perhaps  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred,  but  much  the  larger 
part  were  Christians.  As  there  were  opportunity  and  occasion,  they 
scattered  about  the  hall,  talking  and  praying  with  those  who  had 
asked  for  prayers.  The  interest  in  this  second  meeting  did  not,  some- 
how, seem  to  match  that  of  the  preaching  service.  But  it  would  be 
manifestly  unfair  to  measure  the  influence  of  the  latter  by  such  a  test. 
It  was  as  well  calculated  to  quicken  Christians  as  to  awaken  the 
impenitent ;  to  set  them  at  work  elsewhere  and  everywhere  as  in  Bow 
Road  Hall.  It  was  spoken  of  at  the  noon  prayer-meeting  the  next 
day  as  the  best,  so  far,  of  the  London  meetings. 

"  Nothing  is  clearer  than  that  London  has  been  remarkably  stirred 
by  the  labors  of  these  two  evangelists.  The  windows  of  every  print 
store  are  hung  with  their  pictures.  Penny  editions  of  Mr.  Sankey's 
songs  are  hawked  about  the  streets.  The  stages  and  the  railway 
stations  are  placarded  to  catch  the  travellers  for  their  meetings.  The 
papers  report  their  services  with  a  fulness  never  dreamed  of  before 
in  reporting  religious  meetings.  Yet  it  is  doubtful  whether,  with 
services  held  almost  every  day  since  about  the  ist  of  March,  five  per 
cent,  of  the  people  of  this  great  city  have  ever  heard  them,  or  fifteen 
per  cent,  ever  heard  of  them." 

While  Mr.  Moody  was  reaching  the  tenement-house  population  in 
the  crowded  East  End  he  was  also  holding  services  in  the  fashionable 


240  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

West  End.  The  Royal  Opera  House  was  secured,  and,  in  addition 
to  the  noon  prayer-meeting  and  a  Bible  lecture  in  the  afternoon,  he 
preached  twice  every  evening  except  Saturday,  being  driven  rapidly 
from  the  Opera  House  to  Bow  Road  Hall.  One  Sunday  he  arranged 
to  preach  four  times.  Ignorant  of  the  distances,  he  was  obliged  to 
walk  sixteen  miles  besides  delivering  the  sermons,  as  he  would  not 
use  a  public  conveyance  on  Sunday. 

"  I  walked  it,"  he  announced  later  when  preaching  on  the  Fourth 
Commandment,  "  and  I  slept  that  night  with  a  clear  conscience.  I 
have  made  it  a  rule  never  to  use  the  cars,  and  if  I  have  a  private 
carriage,  I  insist  that  horse  and  man  shall  rest  on  Monday.  I  want 
no  hackman  to  rise  up  in  judgment  against  me." 

In  a  later  visit  to  Scotland  a  committee  went  to  a  livery-stable 
keeper,  without  Mr.  Moody's  knowledge,  to  secure  a  carriage  to  take 
him  to  a  distant  meeting  on  the  following  Sunday. 

"  It  will  hurt  him  less  to  walk,"  said  the  owner  of  a  thousand 
horses,  "  than  to  drive  a  horse  and  carriage  four  miles  through  the 
Decalogue."  Mr.  Moody  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  reply  and 
often  repeated  the  incident,  remarking  that  he  wished  more  em- 
ployers were  as  careful  of  the  interests  of  their  men  as  well  as  their 
dumb  animals. 

Among  those  who  attended  the  London  meetings  was  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, who  entered  heartily  into  the  service.  At  the  close  of  the 
meeting  Mr.  Moody  was  presented  to  him.  The  conversation  was 
characteristic  in  its  abruptness,  and  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  as  to  its 
nature,  Mr.  Moody  said,  "  Oh,  he  said  he  wished  he  had  my  shoulders, 
and  I  said  I  wished  I  had  his  head  on  them." 

Although  Mr.  Moody  was  always  utterly  indifferent  to  rank  and 
title  as  such,  his  influence  was  no  less  effective  on  the  highly  educated 
and  socially  eminent.  Lord  Shaftesbury  thanked  God  publicly  that 
Mr.  Moody  had  not  been  educated  at  Oxford,  "  for  he  had  a  wonder- 
ful power  of  getting  at  the  hearts  of  men,  and  while  the  common 
people  hear  him  gladly,  many  persons  of  high  station  have  been 


The  London  Campaign  241 

greatly  struck  with  the  marvellous  simplicity  and  power  of  his  preach- 
ing." Lord  Shaftesbury  added  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England 
a  short  time  before  had  said  to  him,  "  The  simplicity  of  that  man's 
preaching,  the  clear  manner  in  which  he  sets  forth  salvation  by  Christ, 
is  to  me  the  most  striking  and  the  most  delightful  thing  I  ever  knew 
in  my  life." 

Mr.  Moody  received  no  more  hearty  support  from  any  one  in 
London  than  that  given  by  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Spurgeon.  Address- 
ing his  own  audience,  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  that  "  some  of  my  hearers 
have  probably  been  converted  under  the  influence  of  the  services  con- 
ducted by  my  dear  friends,  Moody  and  Sankey,  at  Agricultural  Hall." 
He  implored  them,  if  they  professed  to  have  found  Christ,  not  to  make 
a  sham  of  it,  and  said  that  their  salvation,  if  it  were  worth  anything, 
should  be  a  salvation  from  sin.  Salvation  from  hell  was  not  the  salva- 
tion they  ought  to  cry  after,  but  salvation  from  sin,  and  that  would 
bring  salvation  from  hell.  A  thief  might  want  to  get  salvation  from 
going  to  prison,  but  the  only  salvation  for  him  that  was  worth  any- 
thing was  salvation  from  thieving. 

One  of  the  most  enthusiastic  services,  and  in  many  respects  one  of 
the  best,  was  held  in  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle.  It  was  designed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  students  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's  college  and  the  Baptist 
ministers  in  town  for  the  April  anniversaries,  but  the  scope  of  the 
meeting  was  widened  and  tickets  were  issued  to  the  Sunday  congre- 
gation. In  his  address  Mr.  Moody  was  dwelling  on  the  passage, 
"  Prepared  unto  every  good  work,"  and  he  said : 

"  I  wonder  how  many  of  you  would  rise  if  I  should  ask  every  man 
and  woman  to  do  so  who  is  ready  to  go  and  speak  to  some  anxious 
soul — I  wonder  how  many  would  rise  and  say,  '  I  am  ready  for  one.'  " 
He  paused.  "  Some  one  behind  me  says,  '  Try  it/  but  I  am  rather 
afraid."  He  paused  again.  "  Well,  suppose  we  do  try  it.  How 
many  of  you  are  ready  to  go  and  talk  to  some  soul?  " 

The  students  and  ministers  on  either  side  of  the  platform  at  once 
rose  in  a  body,  and  their  example  was  quickly  followed  by  members 


242  The  Lite  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

throughout  the  congregation.     Equal  to  the  occasion,  Mr.  Moody 
said: 

"  Well,  now  you  have  risen,  I  want  to  tell  you  that  the  Lord  is  ready 
to  send  you.  Nothing  will  wake  up  London  quicker  than  to  have  the 
Christians  going  out  and  speaking  to  the  people.  The  time  has  come 
when  it  should  be  done.  We  have  been  on  the  defensive  too  long." 


CHAPTER    XXII 
THE  LONDON  CAMPAIGN  CONTINUED 

AT  the  opening  of  the  mission  in  Camberwell  Green  Hall  Mr. 
Moody  received  the  valuable  assistance  of  Rev.  W.  H.  M. 
Hay-Aitken  and  Rev.  Charles  H.  Spurgeon. 

Special  children's  services  were  begun  here,  and  the  exercises 
were  adapted  to  their  tastes  and  needs.  On  one  occasion  between 
six  and  seven  thousand  children  from  the  various  charitable  institu- 
tions of  London  gathered  to  hear  Mr.  Moody's  anecdotes,  to  answer, 
as  they  readily  did,  the  simple  questions,  and  to  listen  with  delight  to 
Mr.  Sankey's  beautiful  hymns.  From  shoeblacks'  homes,  doorstep 
brigades,  newsboys'  societies,  boys'  and  girls'  refuges,  industrial 
schools,  schools  for  the  blind  and  for  cripples,  and  homes  for  orphans, 
the  waifs  and  strays  came  trooping  up  to  swell  the  lilliputian  host. 
Forty-seven  such  Christian  nurseries  sent  their  contingents,  and  as 
the  entire  army  rose  to  sing  "  Hold  the  fort,"  the  sight  was  most 
touching  and  beautiful.  The  uniforms  of  the  several  brigades,  the 
costumes  of  the  girls,  varying  from  bright  scarlet  to  black,  came  out 
most  effectively,  and  their  singing  was  well  worth  walking  miles  to 
hear.  The  galleries  and  spare  floor  space  were  filled  with  parents 
and  friends  of  the  girls  and  boys,  with  an  extensive  intersprinkling  of 
children,  who  enjoyed  the  treat  as  much  as  their  more  favored  con- 
temporaries in  the  body  of  the  hall. 

Among  Mr.  Moody's  most  valued  assistants  and  closest  friends, 
men  who  gave  him  most  valuable  aid  at  this  time  and  never  lost  their 
warm  associations  with  him  during  his  life,  were  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar, 


244  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

of  Glasgow,  and  Henry  Drummond.  The  London  meetings  were 
thus  described  by  Drummond  in  a  letter  to  his  father :  "  Everything 
is  bright  outside  and  inside,  and  I  only  wish  you  were  here  to  share 
the  enjoyment.  How  would  you  like  to  see  an  acre  of  people  ?  That 
is  exactly  the  size  of  the  audience  to  which  Mr.  Moody  preaches 
every  night  in  the  East  of  London.  Here  is  his  programme :  A  three 
miles'  drive  to  noon  meeting;  lunch;  Bible  reading  at  3.30,  followed 
by  inquiry  meeting  till  at  least  five;  then  five  miles'  drive  to  East  End 
to  preach  to  twelve  thousand  at  8.30;  then  inquiry  meeting;  five  or 
six  miles'  drive  home.  This  is  every  day  this  week  and  next — a  ter- 
rible strain,  which,  however,  he  never  seems  to  feel  for  a  moment. 
The  work  is  coming  out  grandly  now,  and  I  think  the  next  two 
months  will  witness  wonderful  results.  It  is  deepening  on  every 
side,  and  even  London  is  beginning  to  be  moved.  Mr.  Moody  said 
'  Sunday  was  the  best  day  of  his  life.'  " 

The  following  extract  from  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar's  diary  at  this  time 
is  also  of  special  interest : 

"  Have  been  with  Moody  again  in  London.  Immense  crowds, 
wonderful  sight,  and  more  wonderful  impression.  Had  time  to-day 
for  prayer.  Saw  how  simple  confidence  in  Christ  had  helped  me 
very  often  in  the  past,  and  sought  to  be  able  to  have  this  always,  as 
well  as  often.  There  is  great  talk  about  higher  life  and  much 
movement  in  that  direction,  and,  though  there  is  error  mingled,  this 
may  be  the  Lord's  way  of  answering  the  prayers  which  some  of  us 
have  sent  up,  asking  in  our  lives  more  likeness  to  Christ. 

"At  Camberwell  Hall  not  less  than  nine  thousand  assembled, 
morning,  noon,  and  night.  In  the  morning,  before  eight  o'clock,  I 
was  summoned  away  to  the  overflow  in  the  neighboring  church. 
But  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the  day  was  our  Bible  reading  with 
Mr.  Moody  in  the  forenoon;  about  thirty  Christian  friends  present. 
We  were  like  Acts,  xx.  7,  talking  for  two  hours  and  then  dispensing 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Mr.  Moody  closed  with  prayer.  Most  solemn 
scene,  never  to  be  forgotten. 


The  London  Campaign  245 

"  The  last  of  Mr.  Moody's  meetings  here,  an  assembly  of  ministers 
and  friends  at  Mildmay :  I  thought  upon  Rev.  vii.  1-3." 

John  Wanamaker,  of  Philadelphia,  presided  at  a  noon  meeting, 
and  spoke  of  the  deep  interest  that  was  felt  in  America  in  the  great 
religious  movement  going  on  in  London.  One  afternoon  about 
three  thousand  children,  with  a  thousand  adults,  came  together,  when 
Henry  Drummond  presided  and  gave  a  delightful  address,  which  was 
well  suited  to  the  young  audience. 

During  the  mission  in  London  a  number  of  conventions  were  held, 
notable  among  which  was  a  convention  for  young  men  held  one 
evening  at  Mr.  Moody's  request.  The  special  attraction  was  the 
presence  of  three  presidents  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions in  America.  Henry  Drummond  read  a  part  of  the  "  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,"  Mr.  Moody  gave  a  sketch  of  the  origin  and  progress 
of  the  Association  movement  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  and 
then  called  upon  William  E.  Dodge,  president  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  New  York,  to  speak.  He  was  followed  by 
John  V.  Farwell,  the  president  of  the  Association  in  Chicago,  and 
John  Wanamaker,  the  president  of  the  Philadelphia  Association. 

Professor  Drummond  conducted  the  meetings  for  young  men, 
bringing  with  him  a  large  and  varied  experience,  besides  being  espe- 
cially gifted  with  many  qualifications  for  this  special  work.  He  ruled 
the  meeting  with  a  firm  and  yet  gentle  hand,  and  possessed  a  happy 
knack  of  putting  every  one  at  his  ease  and  making  him  feel  that  he 
was  one  of  a  circle  of  friends  met  for  the  common  welfare. 

Another  convention  was  held  the  following  week  in  the  Haymarket 
Theatre,  in  which  reports  of  the  work  in  various  parts  of  Great 
Britain  were  presented.  The  question  of  the  unchurched  masses 
and  other  practical  topics  occupied  one  day.  Sunday-schools,  the 
inquiry-room,  and  work  for  young  men  were  taken  up  on  the  second 
day. 

As  the  end  of  the  series  of  meetings  approached,  still  another  con- 
ference was  held,  this  time  with  the  house-to-house  visitors  and 


246  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

superintendents,  and  later  a  meeting  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  for 
praise  and  thanksgiving  before  Mr.  Moody's  return  to  America. 

The  last  week  that  Moody  and  Sankey  were  in  London  they 
received  an  invitation  to  hold  a  service  on  grounds  adjacent  to  Eton 
College,  so  that  those  boys  who  were  anxious  to  attend  might  have 
an  opportunity  of  doing  so.  There  were  upward  of  nine  hundred 
boys  at  this  well-known  school,  almost  under  the  shadow  of  the 
royal  palace  at  Windsor.  Notwithstanding  his  already  overfilled 
time,  Mr.  Moody  accepted  the  invitation,  and  arrangements  were 
made  for  a  meeting  in  a  tent  erected  outside  the  college  grounds. 
The  headmaster  of  Eton,  who  had  absolute  jurisdiction  in  such  mat- 
ters, agreed  not  to  put  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  boys  attending. 

Just  before  the  meeting  was  to  be  held  Mr.  Knatch  Bull-Hugessen, 
a  member  of  Parliament,  took  steps  to  prevent  the  meeting,  and  pub- 
lished a  correspondence  of  his  with  the  provost  of  the  college.  No 
little  excitement  was  caused  by  this  unexpected  turn  of  affairs,  and 
the  matter  was  discussed  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Mr.  Moody,  with 
those  who  had  arranged  for  the  meeting,  saw  no  reason  to  change 
their  plans,  and  went  to  Windsor  shortly  after  noon  on  Tuesday. 
When  they  reached  there  they  found  that  they  could  not  meet  in  the 
tent,  and  tried  to  secure  the  use  of  the  town  hall,  but  were  disap- 
pointed in  this  also.  Mr.  Caley,  a  leading  townsman  of  Windsor, 
generously  offered  the  use  of  his  garden,  and  this  offer  was  accepted. 

Shortly  after  three  o'clock  some  two  hundred  Eton  boys  appeared, 
and  when  the  meeting  proper  began  the  garden  was  well  filled  with 
a  standing  audience  of  about  a  thousand.  After  the  singing  of  the 
"  Hundredth  Psalm  "  and  a  prayer  by  Lord  Capan,  Mr.  Moody, 
standing  upon  a  chair  under  the  shade  of  a  large  chestnut  tree,  sur- 
rounded by  attentive  groups  of  Eton  boys,  delivered  an  address,  in 
which  he  dwelt  with  his  usual  earnestness  on  the  value  of  the  Gospel, 
which,  he  said,  had  removed  from  his  path  the  bitterest  enemies  with 
which  he  had  ever  had  to  contend — the  fear  of  death,  judgment,  and 
sin.  Mr.  Moody  departed  little,  if  at  all,  in  his  discourse  from  his 


The  London  Campaign  247 

usual  line  of  argument,  exhortation,  and  illustration.  He  expressed 
the  hope  that,  as  many  of  them  might  occupy  in  the  future  high 
positions  in  the  State,  they  should  do  their  utmost,  by  the  early  cul- 
tivation of  Christian  virtue,  to  qualify  themselves  to  fill  those  posi- 
tions worthily  and  to  merit  the  glorious  hereafter  which  was  promised 
to  those  who  conformed  to  the  will  of  God. 

At  the  closing  service  in  London  Mr.  Moody  said : 

"  For  two  years  and  three  weeks  we  have  been  trying  to  labor  for 
Christ  among  you,  and  now  it  is  time  to  close.  This  is  the  last  time 
I  shall  have  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel  in  this  country  at 
this  time.  I  want  to  say  that  these  have  been  the  best  years  of  my  life. 
I  have  sought  to  bring  Christ  before  you  and  to  tell  you  of  His  beauty. 
It  is  true  I  have  done  it  with  stammering  tongue.  I  have  never 
spoken  of  Him  as  I  would  like  to.  I  have  done  the  best  I  could,  and 
at  this  closing  hour  I  want  once  more  to  press  Him  upon  your 
acceptance.  I  do  not  want  to  close  this  meeting  until  I  see  you  all 
in  the  ark  of  refuge.  How  many  are  willing  to  stand  up  before 
God  to-night  and  say  by  that  act  that  they  will  join  us  in  our  journey 
to  Heaven?  You  that  are  willing  to  take  Christ  now,  will  you  not 
rise?" 

Many  rose  to  their  feet  and  were  led  in  prayer  by  Mr.  Moody,  who 
besought  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  fall  equally  upon  those  who 
had  risen  and  upon  those  who  had  not,  and  with  a  closing  hymn, 
"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,"  the  work  of  the  evangelists  for  that 
campaign  was  at  an  end. 

A  farewell  and  thanksgiving  meeting  was  held  the  next  day,  July 
1 2th,  at  Mildmay  Conference  Hall.  The  hall  was  crowded  with 
ministers  and  laymen,  the  three  galleries  containing  many  ladies.  Of 
the  ministers  present  at  this  memorable  meeting  there  were  188 
belonging  to  the  Church  of  England,  154  Congregationalists,  85 
Baptists,  8 1  Wesleyan  Methodists,  39  Presbyterians,  8  foreign  pas- 
tors, 8  United  Methodists,  7  Primitive  Methodists,  3  Plymouth 
Brethren,  2  Countess  of  Huntingdon's  Connection,  2  Society  of 


248  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Friends,  3  Free  Church  of  England,  i  Bible  Christian,  and  upward 
of  20  whose  denominational  connections  were  not  discovered.  These 
figures  are  taken  from  the  official  statement  supplied  at  the  meeting, 
and  show  the  catholic  and  unsectarian  character  of  the  services,  as 
well  as  the  universal  esteem  with  which  the  evangelists  were  regarded 
by  all  sections  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Great  Britain. 

Mr.  Moody  said  that  they  were  met  to  give  thanks  to  God  and  not 
to  honor  men,  and  he  very  emphatically  requested  that  nothing- 
should  be  said  about  the  human  instruments  of  the  mission's  success. 
Dr.  Andrew  A.  Bonar,  of  Glasgow,  gave  an  interesting  address,  and 
the  Rev.  Archibald  Brown,  Dr.  Donald  Fraser,  the  Rev.  Marcus 
Rainsford,  Rev.  W.  H.  M.  Hay-Aitken,  Henry  Varley,  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury,  and  others  spoke. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Lord  Shaftesbury  was  "  the  noble  Earl  " 
who  presided  at  the  first  meeting  which  Mr.  Moody  attended  in 
London  in  1867,  and  to  whom  he  declined  to  move  a  vote  of  thanks 
(saying  that  there  was  no  more  reason  for  doing  so  than  for  thanking 
the  audience).  "  Nothing  but  the  positive  command  of  Mr.  Moody," 
he  said,  "  could  have  induced  me  to  come  forward  on  the  present 
occasion  and  say  but  a  very  few  words  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
ministers  of  the  Gospel;  but  as  Mr.  Moody  has  asked  me  to  speak 
of  what  has  occurred  during  the  past  four  months,  I  do  so  with  the 
deepest  sense  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  that  He  has  raised  up  a 
man  with  such  a  message,  to  be  delivered  in  such  a  manner.  Though 
Mr.  Moody  has  forbidden  us  to  praise  him  and  his  friend,  yet  if  we 
praise  God  for  sending  us  such  men  we  do  no  more  than  express  our 
admiration  for  the  instruments  He  has  raised  up,  while  we  give  Him 
all  the  glory. 

"  I  have  been  conversant  for  many  years  with  the  people  of  the 
metropolis,  and  I  might  say  that  wherever  I  go  I  find  the  traces  of  the 
work,  of  the  impression  that  has  been  made,  of  the  feeling  that  has 
been  produced,  which  I  hope  will  be  indelible.  Only  a  few  days  ago 
I  received  a  letter  from  a  friend,  a  man  whose  whole  life  has  been 


lipair 


MR.   MOODY  PREACHING  IN  THE  OPERA  HOUSE.   HAY.MARKET.   LONDON. 


PORTABLE  HALL. 

Two  of  which  were  used  during  the  later  London  campaign.     Seating  capacity,  6,000  each. 


The  London  Campaign  251 

given  to  going  among  the  most  wretched  and  the  most  abandoned 
of  the  populous  city  of  Manchester,  who  speaks  of  the  good  that  had 
been  effected  there  by  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey.  A  correspon- 
dent in  Sheffield  has  also  written  me  that  he  could  not  begin  to  satisfy 
the  wants  of  the  people,  that  they  are  calling  for  tracts  and  anything 
else  to  keep  up  the  religious  feeling  that  has  been  aroused.  He  says : 
'  For  God's  sake,  send  me  tracts  by  thousands  and  millions.'  Even 
if  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  had  done  nothing  more  than  to  teach 
the  people  to  sing  such  hymns  as  '  Hold  the  fort,  for  I  am  coming,' 
they  would  have  conferred  an  inestimable  blessing  on  Great  Britain." 

During  the  four  months  of  the  London  mission  the  work  accom- 
plished is  shown  by  the  following  statistics : 

In  Camberwell  Hall,  60  meetings,  attended  by  480,000  people;  in 
Victoria  Hall,  45  meetings,  attended  by  400,000;  in  the  Royal  Hay- 
market  Opera  House,  60  meetings,  attended  by  330,000;  in  Bow 
Road  Hall,  60  meetings,  attended  by  600,000;  and  in  Agricultural 
Hall,  60  meetings,  attended  by  720,000;  in  all,  285  meetings,  attended 
by  2,530,000  people.  The  mission  cost  £28,396  195.  6d.,  nearly  all 
of  which  was  subscribed  before  the  close  of  the  meetings. 

After  leaving  London  Mr.  Moody  went  for  a  short  rest  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Aitken  and  Mr.  Balfour,  of  Liverpool,  to  the  country  resi- 
dence of  the  latter  at  Bala,  Wales.  Even  here  he  was  not  allowed 
complete  rest,  as  he  was  called  upon  to  give  three  gospel  addresses 
and  several  Bible  readings  during  his  short  vacation. 

As  he  had  to  pass  through  Liverpool  to  sail  for  America  he  was 
urged  to  conduct  two  or  three  more  services  in  that  city  before 
leaving  the  country,  and  on  August  3d  a  Christian  conference  was 
held  in  Victoria  Hall,  and  in  the  evening  a  farewell  meeting.  In 
addition  to  Mr.  Moody's  sermon,  addresses  were  made  by  clergymen 
and  Christian  workers,  including  Henry  Drummond  and  James 
Stalker,  of  Edinburgh.  Mr.  Moody  spoke  again  in  the  evening  to 
the  young  men. 

The  last  service  held  in  England  by  Mr,  Moody  was  on  the  morn- 
is 


252  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

ing  of  his  departure.  The  doors  were  opened  at  seven  o'clock,  and 
when  he  rose  to  speak  there  were  between  five  and  six  thousand  peo- 
ple present.  He  repeated  the  watchword  he  had  given  the  day  before, 
"  Advance."  He  then  offered  to  shake  hands  with  all  the  people 
present,  "  in  the  person  of  the  president  of  the  Association." 

Mr.  Moody  left  England  August  i4th,  and  on  his  arrival  in  New 
York  he  was  greeted  by  many  friends,  including  Messrs.  D.  W.  Mc- 
Williams,  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  George  H.  Stuart,  and  J.  V.  Farwell. 

Some  of  the  direct  results  of  this  English  tour,  covering  more  than 
two  years,  have  been  summarized  by  one  writer  as  follows :  "  A  spirit 
of  evangelism  was  awakened  that  has  never  died  away.  A  large  num- 
ber of  city  missions  and  other  active  organizations  were  established. 
Denominational  differences  were  buried  to  a  remarkable  extent.  The 
clergymen  of  all  denominations  were  drawn  into  cooperation  on  a 
common  platform,  the  salvation  of  the  lost.  Bibles  were  reopened 
and  Bible  study  received  a  wonderful  impetus.  Long-standing 
prejudices  were  swept  away.  New  life  was  infused  into  all  methods 
of  Christian  activity.  An  impetus  was  given  to  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance such  as  had  not  been  experienced  in  Great  Britain  before. 
No  attempt  was  made  to  proselytize,  but  converts  were  passed  over 
to  existing  churches  for  nurture  and  admonition  in  the  things  of  the 
Lord." 

"  Since  Mr.  Moody  made  his  way  across  the  ocean  twenty-three 
years  ago,"  wrote  a  prominent  Scotch  minister  in  1896,  "  an  Ameri- 
can preacher  has  been  a  welcome  visitor  here." 

With  reference  to  this  work,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  of  New 
York,  made  the  following  remarks  in  an  address  in  London  some 
years  ago : 

"  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  facts  in  the  history 
of  these  days  is  the  wonderful  effect  produced  among  you  by  the 
efforts  of  two  laymen  from  America.  It  was  a  greater  marvel  to  us 
than  to  you,  and  the  only  way  to  account  for  it  is  to  refer  it  at  once  to 
the  grace  of  God !  Such  a  movement  the  world  has  not  seen  since 


The  London  Campaign  253 

the  days  of  Whitefield  and  Wesley,  and  it  is  wider  in  its  results  than 
the  work  of  those  two  honored  men.  It  is  most  unsectarian  in  its 
character,  and,  I  may  add,  the  most  unselfish  movement  known  in 
our  common  history.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  winning  souls  to 
Christ  and  of  extending  His  Kingdom,  without  regard  to  denomina- 
tional boundaries,  that  these  two  men  came  to  England,  and  every 
church  may  reap  the  benefit.  .  .  .  We  in  America  had  no  idea 
these  two  men  could  have  produced  such  a  commotion  among  you 
all;  but  it  is  just  the  old,  old  story  of  the  simple  fishermen  of  Galilee 
over  again." 

Subsequently  he  said  of  his  countrymen :  "  They  have  proved  the 
power  of  elementary  truths  over  the  hearts  of  men  more  mightily  than 
all  the  learned  professors  and  eloquent  pastors  of  England  could  do. 
As  the  Methodist  revival,  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  stopped 
the  progress  of  deism,  so  these  plain  laymen  from  America  turned 
the  tide  of  modern  materialism  and  atheism.  It  is  the  grace  of  God 
behind  these  men  which  explains  the  extraordinary  religious  inter- 
est they  have  awakened  all  over  Scotland  and  England.  The  fare- 
well service  given  to  the  American  evangelists  on  the  I2th  of  July, 
in  London,  furnished  abundant  testimony  to  the  fruits  of  their  labors 
from  the  mouths  of  ministers  and  laymen  of  all  denominations.  It 
was  a  meeting  which  will  not  easily  be  forgotten." 


CHAPTER    XXIII 
RETURN  TO  AMERICA 

THE  reports  of  the  deep  religious  awakening  in  Great  Britain 
had  preceded  Mr.  Moody  to  America,  so  that  on  his  return 
he  was  as  well  known  there  as  in  Great  Britain.  A  little  over 
two  years  before  he  had  left  his  country,  known  only  to  a  com- 
paratively small  circle  of  Sunday-school  workers  and  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  friends.  In  Chicago  his  name  was  more 
prominent  than  elsewhere,  but  to  the  general  public  his  work  was  not 
familiar.  It  may  be  said,  then,  that  Mr.  Moody  was  introduced  to 
America  by  Great  Britain,  as  he,  in  turn,  is  said  to  have  introduced 
several  Englishmen  to  their  own  country. 

Immediately  on  his  return  he  received  many  invitations  to  visit 
the  leading  cities  in  America.  In  some  cases  these  were  sent  to 
him  before  he  left  London.  In  several  places  committees  had  been 
formed  to  arrange  for  a  series  of  meetings,  which  he  was  asked  to 
conduct.  It  must  have  been  most  gratifying  as  well  as  flattering 
to  find  at  once  such  a  widespread  expression  of  appreciation,  but  with 
a  characteristic  spirit  of  humility  he  turned  aside  from  all  these  invi- 
tations, ostensibly  to  rest,  but  in  reality  to  study  and  to  wait  upon 
God  for  guidance  as  to  his  future  plans. 

On  arriving  in  New  York  Mr.  Moody  with  his  family  went  directly 
to  Northfield  to  spend  several  weeks  with  his  aged  mother.  Here 
he  gave  much  time  to  a  careful  preparation  for  the  work  of  the  com- 
ing winter.  Mornings  were  devoted  to  reading  and  the  preparation 
of  addresses,  as  he  had  had  little  opportunity  during  the  busy  months 
abroad  to  acquire  new  material. 


MR.  MOODY'S  MOTHER.     DIED  1896,  IN  HER  NINETY-FIRST  YEAR. 


Return  to  America  257 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  purchased  the  small  farm  which  later 
became  his  home.  A  barren  little  tract  of  twelve  acres  near  his 
mother's  place  was  offered  for  sale  at  this  time  at  a  moderate  price, 
and  Mr.  Moody  bought  this,  purposing  to  hold  the  land  for  his 
mother  and  to  spend  a  few  summers  there  for  the  sake  of  his  children. 
For  several  summers  he  retreated  to  the  quiet  seclusion  of  this 
country  home,  where  he  could  study  and  prepare  for  the  arduous  mis- 
sions during  the  winter  months.  Gradually  his  interests  in  North- 
field  increased,  until  the  home  he  planned  for  rest  and  quiet  became 
the  scene  of  his  greatest  activities  and  most  lasting  work. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  Northfield  he  was  again  besieged  with  the 
most  cordial  and  urgent  invitations  to  visit  different  American  cities. 
Among  others  was  one  from  Washington,  brought  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
John  P.  Newman,  who  was  delegated  by  the  pastors  of  that  city  to 
go  to  Northfield  and  secure  a  positive  answer  to  the  question : 

"  Will  you  conduct  a  campaign  in  Washington  this  fall  ?  " 

Dr.  Newman  found  Mr.  Moody  busily  engaged  in  farm  duties. 
He  listened  attentively  to  the  distinguished  preacher,  later  a  bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  he  was  not  prepared  to  give 
a  definite  answer. 

"  I  don't  know  yet  where  the  first  meetings  will  be  held.  I  am 
waiting  to  see  where  I  am  led."  This  was  all  that  he  could  be  induced 
to  say. 

Dr.  Cuyler,  of  Brooklyn,  also  visited  Northfield,  "  to  hear  from 
Mr.  Moody's  own  lips  the  thrilling  story  of  what  God  had  wrought 
in  Great  Britain."  The  two  friends  talked  frankly  of  the  meetings 
abroad,  and  of  those  soon  to  begin  in  America. 

"  At  the  farmhouse  table  of  his  venerated  mother,"  writes  Dr. 
Cuyler,  "  he  related  some  of  his  experiences.  When  I  asked  him 
who  had  helped  him  most,  he  replied :  '  Dr.  Andrew  A.  Bonar  and 
Lord  Cairns.  The  first  one  helped  me  by  inspiring  hints  of  Bible 
truth  for  my  sermons;  the  other  one  by  coming  often  to  hear  me,  for 
the  people  said  that  if  the  Lord  Chancellor  came  to  my  meetings  they 


258  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

had  better  come  too.'  He  might  have  added,  if  his  characteristic  mod- 
esty had  allowed,  that  Cairns  had  said  that  he  '  gave  him  a  new  con- 
ception of  preaching.' 

"  The  next  morning  Moody  told  me  that  as  he  had  had  but  few 
educational  advantages  in  his  boyhood,  he  was  thinking  of  starting 
a  school  of  a  decided  Christian  character  for  boys  and  girls  in  North- 
field.  And  lo !  into  what  a  goodly  tree  has  that  seed-thought  grown 
— and  how  God  has  watered  it !  Many  other  reminiscences  crowd 
upon  me ;  but  I  restrain  my  pen,  for  if  all  his  friends  should  tell  all  they 
know  a  volume  would  swell  into  a  library.  Of  one  thing  I  feel  sure, 
and  that  is,  if  another  book  of  the  Acts  of  Christ's  faithful  Apostles 
were  to  be  written,  probably  the  largest  space  in  the  record  of  the 
nineteenth  century  would  be  given  to  the  soul-saving  work  of 
Charles  H.  Spurgeon  and  Dwight  L.  Moody." 

Another  visitor  who  gave  and  received  a  great  blessing  was  Major 
Whittle,  his  former  associate  and  lifelong  fellow-worker.  Several 
years  before,  while  walking  home  from  a  meeting  in  his  tabernacle  in 
Chicago,  stopping  near  a  lamp-post  where  their  ways  were  to  part, 
Mr.  Moody  opened  his  Bible  to  II  Timothy,  iv.,  and  in  reply  to  some- 
thing his  friend  had  said  as  to  what  could  be  done  to  rouse  the  people, 
read,  "  Preach  the  Word;  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season ;  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort  with  all  longsuffering  and  doctrine,"  adding,  "  This 
is  our  commission,  Whittle." 

Nothing  more  was  said  then,  but  there  came  to  his  friend  the  con- 
viction, which  never  from  that  time  left  him,  that  God  might  call  him 
to  some  form  of  gospel  work. 

"  As  I  look  back  now,"  writes  Major  Whittle,  "  it  was  a  wonderful 
manifestation  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  I  bless  Him 
for  His  goodness  in  sending  the  call  through  Mr.  Moody  to  me." 

The  following  extract  from  Major  Whittle's  diary  of  September, 
1875,  gives  a  picture  of  the  daily  life  at  Northfield  during  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  first  gospel  campaign  in  this  country : 

"  Bliss  and  myself  received  a  letter  from  dear  Moody  to  come  at 


Return  to  America  259 

once  to  Northfield,  Mass.,  and  confer  with  him  about  the  work  for 
the  coming  winter.  We  left  Chicago  together  Monday  evening, 
September  6th.  Arrived  at  South  Vernon,  Vt,  Wednesday  noon. 
Dear  Moody  was  at  the  station  with  a  carriage  to  meet  us,  and  re- 
ceived us  with  much  joy.  Over  two  years  ago  we  parted  with  him  in 
Chicago.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  used  to  arouse  the  Christian 
world,  to  lead  thousands  of  souls  to  Christ,  and  to  stimulate  scores, 
as  he  did  in  the  cases  of  Bliss  and  myself,  to  go  out  into  the  vineyard. 

"  I  love  him  and  reverence  him  as  I  do  no  other  man  on  earth.  To 
me  he  has  seemed  for  years  a  man  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  only 
change  I  see  in  him  now  is  a  growth  of  conscious  power  and  an 
ability  for  speaking  with  added  weight  and  deeper  conviction.  He 
is  wholly  and  thoroughly  conscious 'that  it  is  all  of  God.  Praying 
alone  with  him,  I  found  him  humble  as  a  child  before  God.  Out  in 
the  work  with  him  I  found  him  bold  as  a  lion  before  men.  No  hesi- 
tation, no  shrinking,  no  timidity;  speaking  with  authority,  speaking 
as  an  ambassador  of  the  most  high  God. 

"  Two  weeks  we  passed  in  this  beautiful  mountain  home  of  our 
brother.  We  met  his  widowed  mother,  his  three  brothers,  his  wife 
and  children.  We  were  made  part  of  the  family  and  taken  over  all 
the  haunts  of  Moody's  boyhood;  up  the  mountain  where  he  used 
to  pasture  the  cows  and  pick  berries  and  gather  chestnuts,  and  where 
he  passed  the  last  Sunday  alone  with  God  before  he  sailed  for  Eng- 
land upon  his  last  memorable  visit. 

"  We  went  with  him  to  take  dinner  with  his  uncle  Cyrus,  over  the 
Connecticut  River,  and  as  we  were  crossing  the  beautiful  stream,  the 
valley  sloping  down  on  either  side  and  the  blue  hills  and  mountains 
beyond,  Bliss  and  Sankey  sang  together,  '  Only  waiting  for  the  boat- 
man/ and  '  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight.'  Moody  was  helping  the 
ferryman.  We  all  thought  the  crossing  very  slow.  After  the  third 
or  fourth  song  Sankey  looked  around  and  discovered  Moody  holding 
on  to  the  wire  and  pulling  back  while  the  ferryman  pulled  forward; 
his  object  being  to  get  in  a  good  many  songs,  not  only  for  his  own 


26o  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

enjoyment,  but  for  the  good  of  the  ferryman,  a  boyhood  friend  for 
whose  conversion  he  was  interested.  Moody  greatly  enjoyed  San- 
key's  discomfiture,  and,  after  a  hearty  laugh  from  us  all,  we  joined  in 
the  song,  '  Pull  for  the  shore,'  and  by  keeping  a  watch  on  Moody 
reached  the  shore  as  we  closed. 

"  One  beautiful  day  we  took  luncheon  in  baskets  and,  driving  out 
four  or  five  miles,  climbed  the  highest  of  the  hills  and  had  a  picnic  on 
its  top.  We  could  see  for  miles  up  and  down  the  Connecticut  Valley. 
The  village  of  Northfield  was  at  our  feet,  Brattleboro  just  at  the 
north,  and  all  around  us  grand  old  granite  mountains.  Mount 
Monadnock,  the  largest  of  these,  was  at  our  right  as  we  faced  the 
valley.  Upon  this  mountain  Moody  asked  which  of  the  mountains 
of  the  Bible  was  dearest  to  us.  His  was  the  mountain  in  Galilee 
where  Christ  met  the  disciples  after  He  had  risen.  (Matt,  xxviii.  16.) 
Bliss  and  Sankey  both  chose  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration;  Samuel 
Moody,  the  mount  where  Christ  preached  His  sermon;  George  Davis, 
Calvary;  my  own  choice,  Olivet.  We  had  a  precious  season  of 
prayer  upon  this  mount,  asking  for  power  for  the  work  before  us 
and  praising  the  same  Lord  for  meeting  us  here  Who  met  His  disci- 
ples in  Galilee. 

"  I  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  with  Moody,  driving  up  the  valley  to 
Warwick — a  most  beautiful  ride — and  back  to  Northfield.  Moody 
told  me  much  of  his  experience  in  Great  Britain.  I  asked  him  if  he 
was  never  overcome  by  nervousness  and  timidity  because  of  the  posi- 
tion in  which  he  stood.  He  said  no;  that  God  carried  him  right  along 
as  the  work  grew.  He  had  no  doubt  that,  had  he  known  when  he 
reached  England  what  was  before  him,  he  would  have  been  fright- 
ened. But  as  he  looked  back  all  he  could  think  of  was  Jeremiah's 
experience — that  God  gave  him  a  forehead  of  brass  to  go  before  the 
people.  He  had  such  a  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God  in  his 
meetings  in  London,  that  the  people — lords,  bishops,  ministers,  or 
whoever  they  were — were  as  grasshoppers. 

"  It  troubled  him  somewhat  in  going  to  London  that  his  sermons 


Return  to  America  261 

and  Bible  talks  would  all  be  reported,  and  his  entire  stock,  the  same 
that  he  had  used  in  other  places,  would  thus  be  exhausted,  but  as  he 
expressed  it,  'There  was  no  help  for  it,  so  I  just  shut  my  eyes  and  went 
ahead,  leaving  it  with  God.'  He  told  me  he  spent  but  comparatively 
little  time  in  secret  prayer  and  had  no  experience  of  being  weighed 
down  and  burdened  before  God.  He  did  not  try  to  get  into  this  state. 
His  work  kept  him  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  dependence  upon  God, 
and  he  just  gave  himself  wholly  to  the  work.  For  a  year  or  more 
before  he  left  Chicago  he  was  continually  burdened  and  crying  to 
God  for  more  power.  Then  he  was  always  wanting  to  get  a  few 
people  together  for  half  a  day  of  prayer,  and  would  groan  and  weep 
before  God  for  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  in 
this  state  now. 

"  I  wanted  such  a  season  while  with  him,  feeling  my  own  need,  but 
he  was  as  one  who  had  passed  through  that  experience,  and  had  just 
put  himself  wholly  in  God's  hands,  received  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  was  being  led  in  all  things  by  Him.  His  prayers  while 
I  was  with  him  were  as  simple  as  a  child's,  full  of  trust,  humility,  and 
expectation  that  God  would  not  disappoint  him.  There  seemed  to 
me  an  understanding  established  between  the  servant  and  the  Mas- 
ter which  made  long  prayers  or  the  importunity  of  repetition  unneces- 
sary. During  our  stay  with  Moody,  services  were  held  in  the  Con- 
gregational Church  every  night  with  very  blessed  results.  The  whole 
population  attended,  and  hundreds  came  from  surrounding  towns. 
Dear  Moody's  mother  and  two  brothers,  connected  with  the  Uni- 
tarian Church,  were  much  blessed.  I  shall  always  thank  God  for  the 
blessed  experience  of  these  two  weeks.  Many  brethren  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country  came  and  went  while  we  were  there,  among 
them  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia;  Rowland,  Dodge,  and  McBurney,  of 
New  York;  Remington,  of  Fall  River;  Moore,  of  Boston;  Fairbanks, 
of  Vermont,  and  others. 

"  While  together  we  arranged  for  the  compilation  of  hymns  for  our 
common  use.  We  all  agreed  that  it  would  be  best  to  distribute  our 


262  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

forces  in  different  parts  of  the  country  and  not  to  be  in  the  same 
locality." 

Nothing  was  more  characteristic  of  Mr.  Moody  than  his  longing 
for  retirement  in  the  country  from  the  press  of  his  work.  Though 
his  life-work  lay  for  the  most  part  in  great  cities,  he  was  born  a 
country  lad,  and  for  him  the  everlasting  hills  possessed  a  wealth  of 
meaning  and  a  marvellous  recuperative  power.  Some  instinct  drew 
him  back  to  the  soil,  some  mysterious  prompting  impelled  him  to  soli- 
tude, away  from  the  crowds  that  absorbed  so  much  of  his  strength; 
then,  after  a  little  respite,  he  would  return  with  new  strength  and  new 
vitality. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
BROOKLYN,  PHILADELPHIA,  AND  NEW  YORK 

"  T T  OW  is  it  that  while  you  and  other  like  men  are  all  but  inac- 
cessible, fenced  in  by  closed  doors  and  guarded  by  polite 
but  immovable  private  secretaries,  Dwight  L.  Moody  sees 
you  at  any  time  ?  "  was  asked  of  a  certain  prominent  financier. 

"  He  is  one  of  us,"  was  the  reply. 

From  the  very  first  of  his  evangelistic  work  in  America  Mr. 
Moody's  sound  judgment  inspired  the  confidence  of  men  of  affairs. 
While  his  loyalty  to  the  Gospel  in  all  its  simplicity,  without  champion- 
ing theological  fads,  recommended  him  to  the  ministers  who  believed 
in  evangelistic  efforts,  he  also  earned  the  support  of  laymen  who  were 
able  to  give  him  the  opportunity  for  large  enterprises.  This  had  been 
demonstrated  in  the  work  in  Great  Britain,  and  on  his  return  to  his 
own  country  the  same  general  support  was  afforded  in  the  larger 
American  cities  which  had  extended  to  him  the  heartiest  invitations. 
These  invitations  were  readily  accepted,  for,  as  Mr.  Moody  expressed 
it,  "  Water  runs  down  hill,  and  the  highest  hills  in  America 
are  the  great  cities.  If  we  can  stir  them  we  shall  stir  the  whole 
country." 

The  first  American  campaign  was  begun  in  Brooklyn,  October, 
1875.  Preparations  had  been  made  for  these  meetings,  not  only  by 
providing  places  of  assemblage  and  arranging  a  programme  for  the 
exercises,  but  by  the  union  of  various  denominations  in  holding  meet- 
ings for  prayer  and  conference,  and  pledging  one  another  to  a  cordial 
cooperation  in  the  effort  of  the  evangelists,  upon  whose  work  in  Great 


264  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Britain  the  Divine  blessing  had  so  signally  rested.  A  rink  was  en- 
gaged for  a  month  and  chairs  for  five  thousand  persons  were  provided. 

As  the  interest  in  the  services  grew,  greater  efforts  were  put  forth 
to  reach  more  people  by  increasing  the  number  of  meetings.  The 
help  of  local  ministers  and  prominent  laymen  was  enlisted,  and  over- 
flow meetings  and  special  services  in  churches  and  halls  widened  the 
scope  of  the  work. 

The  influence  of  the  mission  extended  beyond  Brooklyn.  The 
"  New  York  Tribune,"  commenting  editorially  on  the  work,  said : 

"  There  is  a  common-sense  view  to  be  taken  of  this  matter  as  of 
every  other.  In  the  first  place,  why  should  we  sneer  because  a  large 
part  of  the  multitudes  crowding  into  the  Brooklyn  Rink  are  drawn 
there  only  by  curiosity?  So  they  were  when  they  followed  Christ 
into  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  or  the  wilderness,  yet  they  went  to  the 
healing  of  their  souls.  Or  that  a  still  larger  part  already  profess 
Christianity,  and  believe  all  that  Moody  and  Sankey  teach?  There 
is  not  one  of  them  who  will  not  be  the  better  for  a  little  quickening 
of  his  faith,  and,  we  may  add,  of  his  movements  too.  In  the  second 
place,  with  regard  to  the  men  themselves,  there  can,  we  think,  be 
but  one  opinion  as  to  their  sincerity.  They  are  not  money-makers; 
they  are  not  charlatans.  Decorous,  conservative  England,  which 
reprobated  both  their  work  and  the  manner  of  it,  held  them  in  the 
full  blaze  of  scrutiny  for  months,  and  could  not  detect  in  them  a 
single  motive  which  was  not  pure.  Earnest  and  sincere  men  are  rare 
in  these  days.  Is  it  not  worth  our  while  to  give  to  them  a  dispas- 
sionate, unprejudiced  hearing?  Thirdly,  in  regard  to  their  message. 
They  preach  no  new  doctrine,  no  dogma  of  this  or  that  sect;  nothing 
but  Christ  and  the  necessity  among  us  of  increased  zeal  in  His  service. 
Which  of  us  will  controvert  that  truth?  If  the  Christian  religion  is 
not  the  one  hope  for.  our  individual  and  social  life,  what  is? 

"  And  lastly,  with  regard  to  the  method  of  these  men  in  presenting 
Christ  and  His  teaching.  Men  of  high  culture  or  exceptional  sen- 
sitiveness of  taste  shrink  from  the  familiarity  of  words  and  ideas  in 


SCENE  IN  THE  BROOKLYN  RINK. 


THE  BROOKLYN  RINK. 

Awaiting  the  opening  of  the  doors. 


EXTERIOR  OF  OLD  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  DEPOT,   PHILADELPHIA. 


INTERIOR  OF  OLD  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  DEPOT. 

Scene  of  the  great  meetings  in  Philadelphia. 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  267 

which  a  subject  they  hold  as  reverend  and  sublime  beyond  expression 
is  set  forth  to  the  crowd.  They  call  it  vulgarizing  and  debasing  the 
truth.  Granting  that  their  opinion  is  right,  from  their  point  of  view 
— what  is  to  be  done  with  the  crowd?  They  cannot  all  be  men  of 
fine  culture  or  exceptional  sensitiveness;  they  are  not  moved  to 
believe  or  trust  in  Jesus  through  philosophic  arguments,  or  contem- 
plation of  nature,  or  logical  conviction,  or  appeals  to  their  aesthetic 
senses;  by  classical  music,  stained  glass,  or  church  architecture;  they 
are  plain,  busy  people,  with  ordinary  minds  and  tastes ;  yet  certainly, 
as  Christ  died  to  save  them,  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  brought 
to  Him  by  some -means  and  persuaded  to  live  cleaner,  higher,  more 
truthful  lives. 

"  Christianity  is  not  a  matter  of  grammar  for  libraries  and  draw- 
ing-rooms, refined  taste,  or  delicate  sensibility.  It  was  not  to  the 
cultured  classes  that  Christ  Himself  preached,  but  to  the  working 
people,  the  publicans,  fishermen,  tax-gatherers;  and  He  used  the 
words  and  illustrations  which  would  appeal  to  them  most  forcibly. 
If  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey,  or  any  other  teachers,  bring  Him 
directly  home  to  men's  convictions  and  lead  them  to  amend  their  lives 
for  His  sake,  let  us  thank  God  for  the  preacher,  and  let  his  tastes  and 
grammar  take  care  of  themselves." 

In  Philadelphia  a  no  less  notable  series  of  meetings  was  conducted 
in  the  recently  abandoned  freight  depot  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
which  has  since  become  the  widely  known  Wanamaker  Store.  This 
building  was  provided  with  seats  to  accommodate  thirteen  thousand 
persons  and  was  otherwise  adapted  to  the  needs  of  a  large  mission  hall. 
Here,  as  in  Brooklyn,  the  leading  ministers  gave  their  hearty  support 
to  the  work  and  in  every  way  expressed  their  approval  of  the  effort. 
Separate  meetings  for  different  classes  of  hearers  were  started  early 
in  the  work.  Mr.  Moody  said  that  he  was  going  to  have  the  meeting 
for  young  men  limited  to  those  under  forty,  as  that  would  just  take 
him  in.  His  fortieth  birthday  was  celebrated  near  the  close  of  the 
campaign, 


268  The  Life  of  Dwlght  L.  Moody 

One  meeting  was  set  apart  especially  for  intemperate  men  and 
women.  At  Mr.  Moody's  request  a  large  number  of  people  who  had 
been  regularly  attending  the  meeting  remained  away  that  their  seats 
might  be  occupied  by  those  for  whom  the  meeting  was  especially 
designed.  The  audience  has  been  described  as  follows  by  a  witness : 

"  Here  and  there  could  be  seen  the  bloated  faces  of  blear-eyed 
drunkards,  glancing  wildly  around  as  though  the  strangeness  of  the 
situation  was  so  overpowering  that  it  required  a  great  effort  of  will 
to  remain;  not  a  few  were  accompanied  by  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  or 
friends,  who,  having  exhausted  human  means,  had  determined  to  lay 
their  burden  upon  the  Lord. 

"  The  great  majority  of  those  gathered  in  the  Depot  Tabernacle 
yesterday  afternoon  were  as  sad-faced  and  tearful  a  collection  of 
humanity  as  it  would  be  possible  to  assemble  in  one  place.  Those 
who  had  not  directly  suffered  by  intemperance  grew  at  once  into 
sympathy  with  the  hundreds  about  them  whose  heavy  sighs  told 
stories  of  unutterable,  anguish,  and  this  influence  increased  until  a 
cloud  of  terrible  depression  seemed  to  hang  over  the  entire  congre- 
gation. Every  class  of  society  was  represented  in  this  throng,  united 
so  closely  by  such  painful  bonds.  Close  to  the  half-starved,  long- 
abused  yet  faithful  wife  of  some  besotted  brute  was  seated  the  child 
of  fortune  and  culture — child  no  more,  but  an  old,  old  woman  whose 
only  son,  still  in  his  youth,  had  fallen  almost  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
degradation. 

"  Next  her  was  a  man  whose  every  feature  showed  nobility  of  soul 
and  rare  talents,  but  whose  threadbare  coat  and  sunken  cheeks  be- 
trayed him  to  all  observers  as  the  lifelong  victim  of  an  unconquerable 
appetite.  Just  behind  this  group  was  a  young  girl  whose  face,  sweet 
as  an  angel's,  was  already  furrowed  by  grief.  Beside  her  was  her 
father,  who,  broken  down  in  health  and  almost  ruined  in  mind  by  the 
excessive  use  of  liquor,  seemed  at  last  to  have  resigned  himself  to 
hopeless  ruin.  He  gazed  about  in  a  half-asleep,  half-childish  way, 
and  several  times  attempted  to  get  up  and  leave  his  seat,  but  the 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  269 

hand  of  the  child-woman  held  his  very  tightly,  and  each  time  he 
would  conquer  his  restlessness  and  sit  down.  By  far  the  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  congregation  were  women,  almost  all  of  whom  had 
evidently  clutching  at  their  hearts  the  agonizing  image  of  some  past 
or  present  experience  with  woe  in  its  most  terrible  form. 

"  It  was  interesting  to  see  the  change  that  gradually  came  over  the 
audience  as  Mr.  Moody  declared  over  and  over  again  that  the  God 
who  had  once  cast  out  devils  could  do  it  then,  and  would  do  it  if  only 
asked;  and  as  fervent  prayers  for  immediate  help  were  offered,  the 
cloud  seemed  to  rise  from  their  hearts,  while  the  noonday  sun  poured 
upon  them  its  blessed  rays  of  hope,  and  eyes  long  dimmed  by  tears 
beamed  with  a  new  light." 

Among  the  laymen  who  were  prominent  in  this  work  were  John 
Wanamaker  and  George  H.  Stuart.  Mr.  Wanamaker's  special  meet- 
ings for  young  men  were  largely  attended  at  this  time. 

As  on  former  occasions,  Mr.  Moody  observed  the  closing  of  the 
old  year  with  a  special  service,  which  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  thus 
describes : 

"The  central  figure  on  the  platform  that  New  Year's  eve  was 
one  whose  appearance  and  bearing  were  most  impressive.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  William  S.  Plumer,  then  a  professor  of  the  Columbia  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  South  Carolina,  and  who  nearly  forty  years  before 
was  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  a  figure  that  would  compel  reverence  and  regard  in  any  gather- 
ing. Massive  in  frame,  towering  in  stature,  venerable  in  appear- 
ance, with  snowy  hair  and  flowing  beard,  he  suggested  Michael 
Angelo's  Moses. 

"  Mr.  Moody  was  on  this  occasion  represented,  not  as  the  teacher, 
but  as  the  inquirer.  Dr.  Plumer  stood  out  as  the  teacher,  to  whom 
the  younger  Moody  came  with  his  questionings  of  heart.  Few  men, 
if  any,  in  the  world  better  knew  the  anxious  cravings  and  doubts  of 
the  inquiring  soul  than  Moody,  as  he  had  met  with  them  in  his  varied 
evangelistic  labors.  Few  trained  theologians  could  have  more  wisely 


270  The  Life  of  Dwiglit  L.  Moody 

and  simply  answered  those  inquirers  than  the  large-brained,  large- 
hearted,  large-framed,  venerable  patriarch  before  whom  Moody 
stood. 

"  The  whole  scene  evidenced  the  simplicity  of  trust  in  God  as  the 
sinner  came  to  him  through  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  need  and  in  his  con- 
fidence. The  theologian  could  give  the  answer  that  the  anxious  soul 
longed  for.  Mr.  Moody  and  Dr.  Plumer  were  at  one  in  this  inter- 
view. A  few  specimen  questions  and  answers  will  illustrate. 

"  Mr.  Moody :  '  Is  any  given  amount  of  distress  necessary  to  gen- 
nine  conversion  ?  ' 

"  Dr.  Plumer :  '  Lydia  had  no  distress — we  read  of  none.  God 
opened  her  heart,  and  she  attended  to  the  things  spoken  by  Paul. 
But  the  jailer  of  Philippi  would  not  have  accepted  Christ  without 
some  alarm.  If  you  will  accept  the  Son  of  God,  you  need  have  no 
trouble.  There  is  nothing  in  trouble  that  sanctifies  the  soul.' 

"  Mr.  Moody:  '  Well,  Doctor,  what  is  conversion?  ' 

"  Dr.  Plumer : '  Glory  be  to  God  there  is  such  a  thing  as  conversion. 
To  be  converted  is  to  turn  from  self,  self-will,  self-righteousness,  all 
self-confidence,  and  from  sin  itself,  and  to  be  turned  to  Christ/ 

"  Mr.  Moody :  '  Can  a  man  be  saved  here  to-night,  before  twelve 
o'clock — saved  all  at  once  ?  ' 

"  Dr.  Plumer:  '  Why  not?  In  my  Bible  I  read  of  three  thousand 
men  gathered  together  one  morning,  all  of  them  murderers,  their 
hands  stained  with  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  They  met  in  the 
morning,  and  before  night  they  were  all  baptized  members  of  Christ.' 

"  Mr.  Moody : '  How  can  I  know  that  I  am  saved?  ' 

"  Dr.  Plumer : '  Because  of  the  fact  that  God  is  true.  "  Let  God  be 
true,  but  every  man  a  liar."  If  I  accept  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  not  Mr. 
Moody's  word,  nor  Mr.  Sankey's,  nor  Dr.  Newton's;  it  is  the  Word  of 
the  living  God,  whose  name  is  Amen.  "He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  hath  everlasting  life,"  ' 

"  Mr.  Moody : '  What  if  I  haven't  got  faith  enough  ?  ' 

"  Dr,  Plumer : '  Glory  to  God,  if  I  can  touch  the  hem  of  my  Saviour's 


THE  "HIPPODROME,"  NEW  YORK. 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  "HIPPODROME." 

During  the  New  York  mission. 


1).  L.  MOODY'S  PRIVATE  STUDY 


D.   L.   MOODY'S  LIBRARY. 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  273 

garment  I  shall  be  saved.     A  little  faith  is  as  truly  faith  as  a  great  deal 

of  faith.     A  little  coal  of  fire  in  the  ashes  is  as  truly  fire  as  the  glowing 

heat  of  a  furnace.' 

"  Mr.  Moody : '  I  don't  feel  that  I  love  Christ  enough/ 

"  Dr.  Plumer : '  And  you  never  will.    To  all  eternity,  you  never  will 

love  Him  as  much  as  He  deserves  to  be  loved. 

"  '  "  Had  I  ten  thousand  tongues, 
Not  one  should  silent  be  ; 
Had  I  ten  thousand  hearts, 
I'd  give  them  all  to  Thee." ' 

"  As  the  hour  of  midnight  approached,  the  appeals  of  Mr.  Moody, 
following  this  illustrative  inquiry  meeting,  grew  more  and  more 
earnest,  and  the  solemnity  of  the  service  deepened.  Just  before 
twelve  o'clock  he  asked  all  present  to  join  in  silent  prayer. 

"  While  all  heads  were  still  bowed  the  profound  stillness  was 
broken  by  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  of  '  Almost  persuaded.'  Then  the 
closing  moments  of  the  passing  year  were  given  to  earnest  prayer, 
especially  for  those  who  had  risen  to  ask  for  it  at  Mr.  Moody's  call, 
and  were  now  urged  to  a  final  decision. 

"  When  at  midnight  the  sounding  out  of  the  bell  of  Independence 
Hall  was  the  signal  for  all  the  bells  of  the  city  and  the  steam-whistles 
on  every  side  to  greet  the  incoming  year,  Mr.  Moody  wished  all  a 
'  Happy  New  Year,'  and  that  never-to-be-forgotten  watch-night  ser- 
vice closed.  Its  echoes  are  still  resounding  in  many  hearts  on  earth 
and  in  heaven,  and  their  gratitude  is  now  deeper  than  ever  to  dear 
Mr.  Moody  and  his  fellow-worker  on  that  sacred  occasion. 

The  late  George  H.  Stuart  thus  spoke  of  the  Philadelphia  meetings 
a  few  weeks  after  their  close: 

"  In  October  last  we  attempted  a  great  work  for  God  in  our  city. 
Some  had  high  expectations  that  it  would  redound  largely  to  the 
glory  of  Heaven.  They  saw  a  deep  spirit  of  prayer  among  the  clergy- 
men and  members  of  the  churches;  and  what  has  been  the  result  ?  It 

16 


274  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

has  far  exceeded  the  highest  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine.  We  had 
little  thought  to  see  a  hall  filled  to  overflowing  day  after  day  with 
from  seven  thousand  to  thirteen  thousand  people  who  came  to  hear 
the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love.  God  heard  our  prayer,  and 
His  work  has  been  continued  in  all  our  churches. 

"  In  my  own  church — an  old  Scotch  church  which  has  been  little 
disposed  to  unity  in  such  religious  movements — I  have  seen  what  I 
had  never  seen  before  during  the  forty  years  that  I  have  known  it. 
At  the  morning  meetings  in  the  Depot  Church  and  on  Sundays  the 
early  hour  at  which  people  came  was  remarkable.  The  watchman 
told  me  that  he  saw  men  gathering  there  as  early  as  4.30  A.M.,  and  at 
six  o'clock  on  cold  mornings  in  January  the  throng  was  so  great  that 
he  was  obliged  to  open  the  doors.  My  church  has  had  two  pastors 
in  seventy-five  years;  on  Sunday  next  it  will  hold  a  special  communion 
service,  something  it  has  not  known  in  years,  and  twenty-five  new 
communicants  will  be  there.  Two-thirds  of  them  are  young  men." 

During  the  Philadelphia  mission  a  number  of  Princeton  students 
attended  the  evangelistic  meetings  and  were  greatly  impressed.  Re- 
turning to  their  college,  they  began  working  for  an  invitation  to  Mr. 
Moody  to  come  and  preach  to  the  students.  The  work  inaugurated 
at  that  time  developed  later  into  organizations  that  have  continued 
fruitful  not  only  among  American  students,  but  throughout  the  world. 

The  last  notable  mission  of  that  winter  was  conducted  in  New 
York.  At  a  meeting  of  clergymen  and  laymen  in  June,  1875,  while 
Mr.  Moody  was  still  in  London,  a  temporary  organization  was 
formed,  of  which  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall  was  chairman.  By  the 
unanimous  vote  of  all  present  a  cordial  invitation  was  extended  to  the 
evangelists  to  hold  a  series  of  religious  meetings  in  New  York  as  soon 
as  their  engagements  would  permit.  On  the  acceptance  of  this 
invitation  a  permanent  organization  was  formed,  and  careful  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  the  proposed  meetings.  William  E.  Dodge  was 
president  of  the  general  committee;  George  H.  Andrews,  Bowles 
Colgate,  and  Henry  Oakley,  vice-presidents;  and  more  than  thirty 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  275 

clergymen,  representing  nearly  all  the  Protestant  denominations,  and 
as  many  laymen,  were  members  of  this  committee.  The  executive 
committee  consisted  of  Nathan  Bishop,  chairman;  John  C.  Have- 
meyer,  secretary;  and  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Irenaeus 
Prime,  S.  B.  Schieffelin,  Elliot  F.  Shepard,  Morris  K.  Jesup,  and 
R.  R.  McBurney.  The  committee  obtained  a  lease  of  the  Hippo- 
drome, on  the  site  of  the  present  Madison  Square  Garden,  at  Madison 
Avenue  and  Fourth  Avenue,  between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
seventh  Streets,  as  the  most  central  and  suitable  building  for  the  meet- 
ings. The  auditorium  was  divided  into  two  large  halls,  each  capable 
of  seating  about  seven  thousand  persons,  and  a  call  was  issued  by  the 
committee  for  a  private  guarantee  fund  to  meet  attendant  expenses. 
In  the  call  it  was  stated  that  "  it  must  be  distinctly  understood  that 
Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  refuse  to  receive  any  payment  for  their 
own  services;  thus  no  part  of  the  above  fund  will  be  paid  to  them." 

While  the  qpmmittee  were  attending  to  the  business  details,  Chris- 
tian people  were  not  idle  in  the  churches.  There  was  an  increased 
interest  in  meetings  for  prayer  and  religious  conference.  The  daily 
prayer-meeting  uptown,  at  Lyric  Hall,  was  largely  attended,  while 
the  Fulton  Street  meeting  felt  the  fresh  impulse  of  revival  prepara- 
tions. Again  the  same  hearty  cooperation  and  unity  of  the  pastors  of 
the  leading  churches  were  experienced,  and  this  sympathy  on  the  part 
of  the  churches  found  expression  in  the  denominational  papers. 
"  The  New  York  Observer  "  thus  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  Pres- 
byterians : 

"  The  men  who  have  been  invited  to  New  York  have  given  full 
proof  of  their  efficient  ministry  by  their  labors  in  other  places,  and 
our  pastors  know  whom  they  are  addressing  when  they  ask  their  aid. 
These  evangelists  have  been  proved  by  the  ministers  and  churches, 
who  of  all  others  were  most  likely  to  condemn  them  if  their  doctrines 
and  measures  had  not  been  in  harmony  with  the  Word  of  God  and 
approved  by  sound  judgment.  They  have  been  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  orthodox  and  well-instructed  religious  communities  in  Great 


276  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Britain.  Excellent,  learned,  thoughtful  pastors  and  the  most  emi- 
nent laymen,  statesmen,  jurists,  and  bankers  have  attended  their 
meetings  and  given  their  favorable  opinion  in  writing.  Presbyteries, 
Synods,  General  Assemblies,  dignitaries  in  the  Church  of  England, 
and  officers  under  government,  men  who  are  not  emotional  or  enthu- 
siastic, who  are  the  furthest  removed  from  religious  fanaticism,  testify 
to  the  great  value  of  the  labors  of  these  evangelists. 

"  Their  discourses  have  been  published  and  widely  read  by  those 
who  disapprove  of  such  labors,  as  well  as  by  their  audiences.  '  I 
have  found  no  fault  in  them  '  is  the  general  verdict.  They  are  simple, 
scriptural  calls  to  the  unconverted.  God  has  followed  them  with 
His  blessing,  and  has  made  them  useful  in  turning  sinners  from  their 
wicked  ways  and  in  bringing  them  to  Christ.  We  have  also  personal 
testimony  from  wise  men  who  have  been  on  the  ground  after  the 
evangelists  had  been  away  for  a  year,  and  they  assure  us  that  the 
work  of  grace  goes  forward  with  no  unhappy  reaction  and  with 
every  evidence  of  continued  good." 

The  papers,  secular  and  religious,  published  long  accounts  of  the 
meetings ;  in  some  instances  giving  verbatim  reports  of  the  addresses. 
The  following  vivid  description  of  an  early  Sunday  morning  service  is 
from  the  pen  of  William  Hoyt  Coleman : 

"  It  is  ten  minutes  after  seven,  and  at  the  Madison  Avenue  entrance 
there  is  a  compact  crowd  extending  to  the  curbstone,  awaiting  the 
opening  of  the  doors  for  the  eight  o'clock  lecture.  A  well-dressed, 
good-humored  crowd,  that  stamps  its  feet  and  chats  pleasantly ;  one 
or  two  men  are  giving  tickets  to  those  who  have  come  unprovided. 
Across  the  street  a  lady  is  accosting  several  rough-looking  young 
fellows,  apparently  inviting  them  to  the  meeting,  but  without  success. 
Five  minutes  later  a  door  slides  back,  a  gratified  '  Ah ! '  goes  up,  and 
the  crowd  moves  in — slowly — as  the  door  is  partly  open.  Through 
a  wide  passage  we  emerge  into  a  space  filled  with  chairs,  surrounded 
by  a  low  gallery,  backed  by  a  huge  white  board  partition,  and  over- 
hung by  an  arched  roof  broken  by  many  skylights. 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  277 

"  A  high  K-shaped  platform  runs  from  one  gallery  to  the  other 
along  the  white  partition;  at  its  centre  is  a  railed  projection  for  the 
speaker  and  his  assistants,  the  rails  running  back  to  the  partition, 
where  there  is  a  doorway  with  a  crimson  screen.  The  right-hand 
section  of  the  platform  holds  a  melodeon  and  the  choir;  the  left-hand 
section  the  special-ticket  holders. 

"  The  hall  is  nearly  full — a  mixed  assemblage  of  all  classes;  some 
very  poor,  a  few  not  very  clean.  Many  black  faces  dot  the  congre- 
gation. A  large  part  of  those  present  are  evidently  Sunday-school 
teachers.  One  wonders  how  so  many  can  come  at  so  early  an  hour. 
A  man  near  by  says :  '  I  built  a  fire  and  got  my  own  breakfast.'  At 
7.40  the  choir  begins  to  sing  and  the  congregation  joins  in.  Nearly 
all  have  brought  their  little  hymn-books,  and,  the  tunes  being  simple 
and  spirited,  they  sing  in  good  time. 

"  Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  two  men  take  their  places,  one  within 
the  rail,  the  other  at  the  melodeon.  As  the  former  rises,  after  a  mo- 
ment of  silent  prayer,  you  see  a  short,  stout-built,  square-shouldered 
man  with  bullet-shaped  head  set  close  on  the  shoulders,  black  eyes 
that  twinkle  merrily  at  times,  and  a  full  but  not  heavy  beard  and  mus- 
tache. The  face  expresses  fun,  good-humor,  persistence.  The  coat 
is  closely  buttoned,  with  a  bit  of  stand-up  collar  seen  over  it.  Such 
is  D.  L.  Moody,  the  leader  of  the  Hippodrome  work.  As  he  stands 
with  hand  resting  on  the  rail,  you  are  conscious  that  it  is  to  see,  not' 
to  be  seen.  Like  an  engineer  with  his  hand  on  the  throttle,  like 
a  physician  with  his  finger  on  the  patient's  pulse,  his  mind  is  on 
the  work  before  him.  A  quick,  soldierly  bearing  marks  every  move- 
ment. 

"  He  gives  out  a  hymn  so  rapidly  that  we  scarce  catch  the  words, 
and  then  we  look  at  Sankey.  A  man  of  larger  build,  clear-cut  features, 
and  shaven  chin;  a  voice  clear,  melodious,  powerful.  Easier  and 
gentler  in  bearing  than  Moody,  he  has  enough  force  and  fire  in  speech 
and  song  to  hold  an  audience  in  perfect  quiet;  and  when  he  sings 
alone  you  hear  every  word  and  catch  from  face  and  voice  the 


278  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

full  meaning  of  the  song.  Both  men  impress  you  as  honest  and 
good,  hearty  and  wholesome  in  body  and  mind,  and  thoroughly  in 
earnest. 

"  After  the  hymns  and  a  prayer  comes  a  solo  by  Mr.  Sankey,  and 
then  Mr.  Moody  lectures  on  '  Jacob.'  Headlong  talking  would  bet- 
ter describe  it.  His  voice  is  rough,  pitched  on  one  key,  and  he 
speaks  straight  before  him,  rarely  turning  to  the  sides.  But  how  real 
he  makes  the  men!  How  visibly  the  deceiving,  scheming  Jacob 
stands  before  us !  And  how  pointedly  he  applies  the  lessons  of  the 
patriarch's  life  to  the  men  and  women  before  him !  His  gestures  are 
few  but  emphatic — the  hand  flung  forcibly  forward  with  palm  open, 
both  hands  brought  down,  hammer-like,  with  closed  fists.  But  the 
Bible  is  too  much  in  his  hands  to  allow  frequent  gestures.  He  con- 
tinually refers  to  it,  reads  from  it,  and  keeps  it  open  on  the  stand 
beside  him.  His  sermon  or  lecture  is  little  more  than  an  exposition 
of  a  Bible  truth,  or  a  dramatic  rendering  of  a  Bible  story,  with  con- 
tinuous application  to  his  hearers. 

"  There  is  an  occasional  slip  of  speech — *  done  '  for  '  did/  '  come  ' 
for  '  came/  '  Isrel/  etc. — but  the  Bible  knowledge,  experience  of  life, 
and  dead  earnestness  of  the  speaker  sweep  every  petty  criticism  out 
of  sight.  Though  under  full  headway  he  sees  all  that  happens.  To- 
ward the  close  of  a  sermon  a  rough  young  man  comes  down  the  aisle, 
going  straight  up  to  the  platform  steps.  '  Usher  will  take  care  of 
that  case/  interjects  Mr.  Moody,  and  goes  quietly  on.  He  ends 
abruptly,  prays  briefly,  pronounces  the  benediction,  and  when  you 
lift  your  head  he  is  gone." 

By  the  same  keen  observer  a  no  less  interesting  description  is  given 
of  an  evening  service : 

"  Imagine  yourself  on  the  platform  of  the  Madison  Avenue  Hall 
at  7.15  P.M.,  five  minutes  before  the  opening  of  the  doors.  Platform 
and  near  gallery  are  already  well  filled  by  the  choir,  Christian  workers 
and  their  escorts,  and  special-ticket  holders;  the  floor  of  the  house 
is  unoccupied,  save  by  knots  of  ushers  with  their  wands,  no  one  being 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  279 

allowed  to  sit  there  until  the  doors  are  opened.  In  the  railed  inclos- 
ure,  just  back  of  the  speaker's  place,  is  a  telegraph  operator,  usually  a 
lady.  Near  by  sits  the  chief  superintendent,  with  aids  at  hand  to 
transmit  orders.  At  the  other  end  of  the  hall  sit  another  superinten- 
dent and  operator.  These  control  the  lighting  and  heating  and  the 
seating  of  the  audience. 

"  '  Ting !  ting !  ting ! '  goes  a  distant  bell  ten  times — attention ! 
'  Ting !  ting ! '  again,  and  the  outer  and  inner  doors  slip  back  at  three 
points,  and  three  streams  of  people  pour  into  the  hall.  The  foremost 
enters  at  a  run  that  would  become  disorder  did  not  the  usher  check 
it,  divide  the  stream,  direct  it  into  the  front  and  middle  seats,  and 
when  a  section  is  filled  bar  the  way  with  his  wand.  In  ten  minutes  five 
thousand  persons  are  seated.  The  galleries  fill  more  slowly,  and  when 
all  parts  are  full  the  doors  are  closed,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  stand 
in  the  aisles  or  along  the  gallery  front  save  a  few  blue-coated  police- 
men, whose  services  seem  rarely  called  for. 

"  The  half-hour  before  meeting  time  passes  quickly.  One  studies 
the  vast  throng  before  him  with  unceasing  interest.  The  bright 
light  of  the  many  reflectors  falls  full  upon  the  faces  of  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men — to  say  nothing  of  women  and  children.  A  more 
mixed  multitude  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  At  the  four  o'clock  meet- 
ings women  are  the  leading  element,  next  to  old  people,  some  of 
them  so  feeble  as  almost  to  be  carried  to  their  seats.  But  at  night 
all  classes  and  ages  are  present.  There  is  a  quiet  stir  everywhere, 
but  no  noise  or  levity.  At  7.45  Mr.  Thatcher  leads  the  choir  in 
singing,  and  shows  great  skill  in  managing  both  choir  and  congrega- 
tion in  combined  and  separate  parts  and  in  producing  tender  and 
powerful  effects.  One  reason  is,  he  has  capital  music  to  do  it  with. 
The  '  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  '  is  the  best  for  congrega- 
tional use  ever  printed.  Its  words  are  full  of  the  Gospel,  its  tunes 
express  the  thoughts  they  are  allied  to,  and  are  so  simple  and  yet 
positive  in  character  that  any  one  can  sing  them  after  once  hearing 
them.  When  this  vast  congregation  sings,  '  Safe  in  the  arms  of 


28o  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Jesus '  or  '  I  hear  Thy  welcome  voice/  one  gets  a  new  idea  of  the 
power  of  sacred  song. 

"  Eight  o'clock,  and  Mr.  Moody  is  at  his  post.  It  is  a  pleasant 
night,  and  though  every  seat  is  filled  there  is  a  large  crowd  outside. 
Announcing  a  hymn,  he  says : 

" '  Now,  won't  a  thousand  of  you  Christians  go  into  the  Fourth 
Avenue  Hall  and  pray  for  this  meeting  and  let  those  outside  have  your 
seats?'  Here  is  a  practical  application  of  Christian  self-denial  not 
pleasant  to  those  who  have  fought  for  good  seats.  However,  a  few 
go  out. 

"  '  Not  half  enough/  says  Mr.  Moody  at  the  end  of  the  first  verse. 
'  I  want  a  great  many  more  to  go  out.  I  see  many  of  you  here  every 
night,  and  if  I  knew  your  names  I'd  call  you  out.'  So,  after  much 
urging,  quite  a  number  leave,  the  doors  are  opened,  and  the  empty 
seats  are  again  filled.  The  platform  does  not  escape. 

"  '  Now,  some  of  you  go/  and  a  few  retire.  '  Will  the  ushers  please 
open  the  windows  ?  '  is  the  next  order.  Mr.  Moody  is  autocratic  in 
his  demands  for  fresh  air. 

' '  Fresh  air  is  as  important  as  the  sermon/  he  says.  '  We've  got 
to  keep  these  people  awake,  and  they're  half  asleep  already.'  All 
very  true,  but  openinglhe  top  back  windows  throws  cruel  draughts 
in  the  galleries,  so  it  isn't  long  before  the  windows  are  shut,  and  very 
soon  Mr.  Moody  is  calling  for  fresh  air  again. 

"  How  he  preaches  has  already  been  described.  The  evening  ser- 
mon is  usually  of  a  bolder  offhand  character  than  that  of  the  after- 
noon, which  is  intended  more  specially  for  Christians.  He  makes 
a  marked  distinction  between  preaching  the  Gospel  and  teaching 
Christians.  His  afternoon  sermon  on  the  Holy  Spirit  seemed  meant 
for  himself  as  well  as  for  others,  and  at  the  close  his  voice  trembled 
with  emotion  as  he  said :  '  I  want  more  of  this  power.  Pray  for  me, 
that  I  may  be  so  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  when  coming  on  this  plat- 
form that  men  may  feel  I  come  with  a  message  from  God.'  The  quiet 
of  the  audience  during  Moody's  preaching  and  Sankey's  singing  is 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  281 

remarkable.  Even  the  rough  young  fellows  who  crowd  the  gallery 
passages  make  no  sound.  At  the  close  Mr.  Moody  announces  a 
men's  meeting  in  the  other  hall,  a  boys'  meeting  in  one  of  the  smaller 
rooms,  and  the  usual  work  in  the  inquiry  meeting.  Those  attending 
these  meetings  are  requested  to  go  to  them  while  the  last  hymn  is 
being  sung. 

"  The  Hippodrome  work  is  a  vast  business  enterprise,  organized 
and  conducted  by  business  men,  who  have  put  money  into  it  on  busi- 
ness principles,  for  the  purpose  of  saving  men.  But  through  all  the 
machinery  vibrates  the  power  without  which  it  would  be  useless — the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Of  course  it  is  successful.  Men  are  being 
saved  day  and  night,  and  a  moral  influence  is  felt  round  about  the 
building  itself.  Two  Sundays  ago  the  police  returns  of  that  precinct 
showed  no  arrests — a  thing  before  unknown — and  a  recent  state- 
ment says  that  in  spite  of  increased  destitution  among  the  poor  this 
winter  there  has  been  no  increase  of  crime. 

"  Christians  have  been  warmed,  '  limbered  up,'  and  taught  to  work 
as  they  have  never  worked  before ;  taught  how  to  study  their  Bibles 
and  how  to  use  them  for  the  good  of  others;  how  to  reach  men 
simply,  naturally,  and  successfully;  how  to  live  consistently  and 
whole-heartedly  themselves.  The  easy-going  church  life  of  multi- 
tudes has  been  sharply  rebuked  by  these  laborious  evangelists.  Wor- 
shipping in  the  rude-walled  Hippodrome,  sitting  on  wooden  chairs, 
led  in  song  by  a  man  with  a  melodeon,  and  preached  to  by  a  man 
without  a  pulpit,  they  have  learned  that  costly  churches,  stained  win- 
dows, soft  cushions,  great  organs,  and  quartette  choirs  are  not  neces- 
sary to  the  worship  of  God,  and  tend  to  drive  away  the  poor,  leaving 
the  rich  to  enjoy  their  luxuries  alone. 

"  Congregational  singing  has  received  a  great  impetus.  The  little 
'  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  '  is  crowding  out  the  bulky  collec- 
tions of  twelve  hundred  and  fourteen  hundred  hymns,  some  of  them 
one-third  unsingable  and  one-third  padding.  Containing  only  pieces, 
new  and  old,  that  the  people  can  sing,  the  people  have  found  it  out, 


282  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  are  singing  them  all  over  the  land  and  beyond  seas  in  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  until  five  million  copies  and  twenty  different  trans- 
lations give  some  idea  of  the  popularity  of  this  little  book.  With 
it  goes  a  new  idea — that  of  singing  the  Gospel,  for  many  of  these 
pieces  are  not  hymns  at  all,  but  simply  gospel  songs,  and  they  have 
been  the  means  of  converting  many  souls. 

"  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  have  freely  acknowledged  that  Mr. 
Moody  has  taught  them  valuable  lessons  in  their  own  work :  how  to 
make  Bible  truths  and  Bible  characters  more  real;  how  to  use  the 
Bible  more  freely  in  preaching,  instead  of  taking  a  text  for  a  peg  on 
which  to  hang  their  own  ideas;  how  to  bring  the  truth  into  close 
contact  with  all  sorts  of  people  and  make  it  stick ;  how  to  set  old 
Christians  and  young  converts  to  work.  And  the  whole  church  is 
now  giving  heed  to  Mr.  Moody's  ideas  about  church  debts,  church 
fairs,  church  choirs,  and  other  supposedly  necessary  evils  of  modern 
church  life." 

Mr.  Moody's  wisdom  in  accepting  invitations  to  the  largest  Amer- 
ican cities  was  immediately  apparent,  for  the  interest  awakened  in 
Philadelphia  and  New  York  gave  him  entrance  into  still  larger  fields 
of  service.  The  support  of  the  large  secular  papers  of  the  East  greatly 
added  to  his  influence  in  every  effort  in  Christian  wrork  in  later  years. 
Although  in  some  quarters  the  tendency  was  to  refer  slightingly  to 
the  meetings,  many  able  correspondents  expressed  their  sympathy 
with  the  work  even  if  they  did  not  accept  the  message  that  was  given. 

"  In  the  Hippodrome  Mr.  Moody  has  gathered  day  by  day  the  larg- 
est audiences  ever  seen  in  this  city,"  said  one  of  the  ablest  of  the 
secular  journals.  "  Lawyers,  bankers,  merchants,  some  of  whom 
scarcely  ever  enter  a  church,  are  just  as  much  a  part  of  his  congre- 
gations as  are  the  second-rate  and  the  third-rate  boarding-house 
people  mentioned  so  conspicuously  in  a  recently  published  analysis. 
All  classes  and  conditions  of  men  have  been  represented  in  these  great 
revival  meetings.  Mr.  Moody  is  a  man  of  such  persistent  consistency 
that  it  is  scarcely  more  possible  that  he  should  change  himself  than 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  283 

that — to  use  a  Biblical  figure — a  leopard  should  change  his  spots. 
Indeed,  there  is  no  prospect  that  he  will  ever  conform  either  himself 
or  his  style  to  the  demands  of  propriety  or  to  the  requirements  of 
grammatical  rules. 

"  Let  us  frankly  confess  as  we  bid  him  good-by  that  we  are  heartily 
glad  that  he  is  what  he  is.  We  would  not  change  him.  Make  him 
the  best-read  preacher  in  the  world  and  he  would  instantly  lose  half 
his  power.  He  is  just  right  for  his  work  as  he  is,  original,  dashing, 
careless. 

"  Mr.  Moody  reaches  the  masses  more  surely  and  widely  because 
he  is  one  of  them  himself,  and  because  he  has  not  been  made  eloquent 
and  faultless  by  the  trimming  and  restraining  processes  of  a  liberal 
education.  His  very  solecisms  sound  sweetly  in  their  ears.  His 
familiarity  and  conversational  manner  please  them.  They  like  his 
directness  and  his  earnestness.  He  is  driving  a  bargain  with  them, 
and  he  talks  sense.  He  is  trying  to  comfort  them  when  '  from  the 
world's  bitter  wind  they  are  seeking  shelter,'  and  he  fills  their  souls 
with  the  assurance  of  a  Father's  love.  There  they  sit  and  listen — 
the  poor,  the  distressed,  the  afflicted,  the  sorrowful — taking  '  their 
fill  of  deep  and  liquid  rest,  forgetful  of  all  ill.'  Life  becomes  pleas- 
anter  to  them ;  the  future  assumes  a  hopeful  aspect.  Mr.  Moody 
touches  more  chords  than  the  ordinary  preacher  on  Sunday ;  he  comes 
nearer  home ;  he  nourishes  them  more ;  his  society  is  more  refreshing. 
They  go  away  from  the  Hippodrome  brightened  and  strengthened. 
They  like  Mr.  Moody,  and  so  does  almost  everybody ;  hence  we  would 
not  on  any  account  have  him  change  himself.  We  enjoy  his  rude 
simplicity  and  his  pell-mell  earnestness,  his  downright  individuality 
and  his  uncalculating  naturalness." 

An  interesting  incident  occurring  at  this  time  is  related  by  Prof. 
George  P.  Fisher,  of  the  Yale  Divinity  School,  as  illustrating  Mr. 
Moody's  sincerity  and  courageous  frankness  as  well  as  his  kindness. 
Says  Professor  Fisher: 

"  I  once  passed  an  evening  in  company  with  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed, 


284  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

who  was  long  a  leader  in  the  politics  of  New  York,  and  in  the  Civil 
War  was  sent  abroad  on  a  kind  of  unofficial  embassy  to  confer  with 
men  of  power  in  England.  In  the  course  of  a  long  conversation  Mr. 
Weed  asked  me  if  I  knew  Mr.  Moody,  and  added  that  Mr.  Moody 
wrote  him  an  excellent  letter,  which  he  would  like  me  to  read.  It 
was  an  acknowledgment  of  a  very  generous  contribution  from  Mr. 
Weed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  meetings  held  in  New  York.  Mr. 
Weed  did  not  himself  mention  the  occasion  of  the  letter,  but  he  after- 
wards sent  me  a  copy  of  it.  This  is  the  letter : 

" '  MR.  WEED. 

"  '  My  dear  Friend :  Yours  of  the  2Oth  of  March  with  check  came 
to  hand  yesterday,  and  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do.  I  am  afraid 
you  may  put  it  in  with  some  other  good  deeds  and  they  may  keep  you 
from  coming  to  Christ  as  a  lost  sinner.  I  wish  you  knew  how  anxious 
I -am  for  you  and  how  I  long  to  see  you  out  and  out  on  the  Lord's 
side.  I  thank  you  for  the  money,  but  what  would  you  say  if  I  should 
treat  your  gift  as  you  have  the  gift  of  God  and  send  it  back  to  you — 
would  you  not  be  offended?  Now  as  I  take  your  gift,  will  you  not 
take  God's  gift  and  let  us  rejoice  together  ?  I  cannot  bear  to  leave  the 
city  and  leave  you  out  of  the  Ark  that  God  has  provided  for  you  and 
all  the  rest  of  us.  Hoping  to  hear  soon  of  your  conversion,  I  remain 
your  friend  and  brother  (I  hope)  in  Christ, 

(Signed)  "  '  D.  L.  MOODY.'  " 

When  the  meetings  were  in  progress,  "The  Tablet,"  a  Roman 
Catholic  paper,  devoted  two  columns  in  one  issue  to  the  work  of  the 
evangelists,  saying  in  its  review : 

"  This  work  of  Mr.  Moody  is  not  sin.  It  cannot  be  sin  to  invite 
men  to  love  and  serve  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  irregular,  unauthorized, 
but  it  may  be  bringing  multitudes  to  a  happier  frame  of  mind,  in  which 
the  Church  may  find  them  better  prepared  to  receive  her  sublime 
faith." 


Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  285 

"  Whatever  philosophical  sceptics  may  say,"  said  "  The  New  York 
Times,"  "  the  work  accomplished  this  winter  by  Mr.  Moody  in  this 
city  for  private  and  public  morals  will  live.  The  drunken  have  be- 
come sober,  the  vicious  virtuous,  the  worldly  and  self-seeking  unself- 
ish, the  ignoble  noble,  the  impure  pure,  the  youth  have  started  with 
more  generous  aims,  the  old  have  been  stirred  from  grossness.  A 
new  hope  has  lifted  up  hundreds  of  human  beings,  a  new  consolation 
has  come  to  the  sorrowful,  and  a  better  principle  has  entered  the 
sordid  life  of  the  day  through  the  labors  of  these  plain  men.  What- 
ever the  prejudiced  may  say  against  them,  the  honest-minded  and  just 
will  not  forget  their  labors  of  love." 

Years  after  this  series  of  meetings  was  ended  it  was  not  an  uncom- 
mon question  for  the  critics  to  ask:  Where  are  the  converts  of  the 
Hippodrome  ?  Without  making  any  effort  to  investigate  the  matter 
themselves,  they  demanded  data  forthwith  from  those  who  expressed 
their  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  special  evangelistic  effort.  The 
Christians  in  many  of  the  churches  in  New  York  and  other  cities  who 
first  made  their  profession  of  faith  at  these  meetings  had  no  distin- 
guishing mark  by  which  they  could  be  at  once  recognized  by  the 
casual  observer.  But  there  was  hardly  a  city  that  Mr.  Moody  visited 
during  the  remaining  twenty-five  years  of  his  evangelistic  career 
where  he  did  not  come  across  those  who  had  first  come  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  in  the  old  Pennsylvania  freight  depot  of  Philadelphia, 
or  in  the  Hippodrome  in  New  York  in  the  winter  of  1875-76.  The 
following  testimony  of  a  New  York  pastor,  writing  twenty  years  later, 
is  but  one  of  many  that  Mr.  Moody  frequently  received : 

"  It  has  been  said  by  some  of  the  pastors  of  the  more  wealthy 
churches  in  this  city  that  but  little  permanent  good  resulted  to  their 
churches  from  the  series  of  meetings  held  by  you  in  this  city  in  1876. 
This  may  be  true  so  far  as  the  churches  named  are  concerned,  but  it 
certainly  is  not  true  regarding  my  own  church.  In  1876  there  were 
received  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  persons.  Of  this  number  one 
hundred  and  twenty-one  came  on  confession  of  their  faith  in  Christ, 


286  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  the  larger  part  of  them  were  brought  to  Christ  directly  through 
the  influence  of  the  great  revival  meetings  in  that  year.  These  con- 
verts have  worn  well ;  only  a  very  small  percentage  have  fallen  away. 
Never  since  that  day  have  we  received  so  large  a  number  in  any  one 
year. 

"  The  greatest  blessing  that  could  come  to  this  city  at  this  time 
would  be  such  a  work  as  was  then  carried  on  so  successfully.  What 
this  city  needs  more  than  anything  else  is  the  preaching  of  the  old 
Gospel.  It  has  lost  none  of  its  power.  All  substitutes  have  failed, 
and  it  is  time  to  come  back  to  the  simple  teaching  of  the  Gospel  of  the 
Cross  of  Christ.  You  are  doing  a  great  work  in  Cooper  Union  and 
in  Carnegie  Hall  now,  and  may  God  bless  you  and  encourage  you 
and  give  you  more  and  more  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 


CHAPTER    XXV 
CHICAGO  AND  BOSTON 

IT  was  not  till  the  fall  of  1876  and  after  the  missions  in  Brooklyn, 
Philadelphia,  and  New  York  that  Mr.  Moody  again  visited  Chi- 
cago to  conduct  a  special  evangelistic  campaign  there.  A  large 
tabernacle  had  been  erected  for  the  occasion,  with  a  seating  capacity 
of  over  ten  thousand.  Ministers  who  had  known  Mr.  Moody  in 
earlier  years  gave  their  hearty  support  to  the  work,  and  it  was  most 
gratifying  for  him  to  feel  that,  in  his  case  at  least,  it  could  not  be  said 
that  a  prophet  is  without  honor  in  his  own  country.  In  Chicago  Mr. 
Moody  was  better  known  than  in  any  city  in  the  world,  and  in  the 
mission  begun  in  October,  1876,  he  received  the  heartiest  cooperation 
of  clergy  and  laity  he  had  ever  known. 

It  was  during  this  Chicago  mission  in  1876  that  Mr.  Moody  sus- 
tained the  loss  of  a  warm  personal  friend,  as  well  as  of  an  invaluable 
helper,  in  the  sudden  death  of  Mr.  P.  P.  Bliss.  Although  compara- 
tively a  young  man,  Mr.  Bliss's  name  was  a  familiar  one  in  every  Sun- 
day-school in  America,  and  the  "  Moody  and  Sankey  Hymn-book  " 
owed  much  of  its  original  popularity  to  his  contributions.  A  musical 
genius  of  unusual  promise,  he  had  been  willing  to  sacrifice  his  taste 
for  higher  lines  of  composition  to  write  music  that  would  prove  effec- 
tual in  carrying  the  gospel  message  to  the  greatest  numbers.  As 
a  hymn-writer  as  well  as  a  composer  he  was  equally  successful,  as 
"Hallelujah,  what  a  Saviour!"  "More  holiness  give  me,"  "I 
know  not  what  awaits  me,"  and  "Wonderful  words  of  life"  tes- 
tify. His  personality  was  most  lovable,  and  the  strong  attachment 


288  The  Life  of  Dvvight  L.  Moody 

between  him  and  Mr.  Moody  made  the  bereavement  a  deep  one.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bliss  had  been  spending  Christmas  with  their  family  in 
Tonawanda,  and  were  on  their  way  to  join  Mr.  Moody  in  Chicago 
when  they  met  death  by  a  railway  accident,  their  train  crashing 
through  the  Ashtabula  bridge  and  falling  seventy  feet  into  the  river 
below.  Mr.  Moody  never  ceased  to  miss  their  aid  in  his  work,  and 
often  spoke  in  warmest  appreciation  of  their  beautiful  ministry. 

The  Chicago  mission  of  1876  was  not  only  attended  with  manifest 
and  sustained  interest,  but  resulted  in  a  material  increase  in  church 
membership,  for  Mr.  Moody  never  failed  to  urge  the  immediate 
affiliation  of  young  converts  with  some  regular  church,  and  devotion 
to  the  strengthening  of  existing  Christian  agencies.  At  the  close  of 
the  mission  a  farewell  service  was  held  for  those  who  professed  to 
have  been  brought  to  Christ  during  the  mission,  for  which  admission 
was  secured  by  ticket  only.  Applications  were  made  for  six  thou- 
sand of  these  tickets,  and  before  the  meetings  closed  local  churches 
reported  over  two  thousand  accessions  on  profession  of  faith. 

Of  late,  critics  have  occasionally  intimated  that  Mr.  Moody  no 
longer  received  the  same  cordial  support  in  Chicago  that  character- 
ized the  earlier  missions  of  twenty  years  ago.  When,  therefore,  in 
1897,  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Moody  was  to  conduct  a  series  of 
meetings  in  the  Auditorium,  the  largest  hall  in  the  city,  with  accom- 
modations for  six  thousand,  many  asserted  that  he  would  be  unable 
to  fill  the  hall  mornings  and  afternoons. 

Mr.  H.  R.  Lowry,  representing  "  The  Chicago  Times-Herald," 
thus  describes  the  meetings  at  this  later  date : 

"  It  made  a  scene  without  precedent;  a  preacher  on  the  platform 
said  it  was  like  nothing  so  much  as  the  host  which  sat  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  for  the  model  sermon.  Six  thousand  more  men  and 
women  were  standing  in  the  streets  after  the  management  had 
ordered  the  doors  closed.  This  multitude  would  not  accept  the 
announcement  that  the  vast  hall  was  packed  from  ceiling  to  pit.  It 
swept  around  the  corners  and  in  the  avenues  until  traffic  was  blocked. 


VIEW  IN  MAIN  STREET  OF  NORTHFIELD. 


VIEW  IN  MAIN  STREET.  OF  .  NORTHFIELD..   _ 


Chicago  and  Boston  291 

The  cable-cars  could  not  get  past.  They  insisted  that  there  must  be 
some  mistake,  as  there  had  never  been  any  prayer-meeting  in  Chicago 
since  Moody  went  away  where  there  had  not  been  room  for  more 
people  than  cared  to  attend.  A  line  of  policemen  tried  to  argue,  but 
the  crowd  would  not  be  reasoned  with.  An  hour  before  the  time  for 
opening  there  had  been  a  stampede.  The  men  at  the  entrances  were 
swept  from  their  posts  by  the  tide.  The  overflow  waited  patiently 
during  the  service,  and  a  small  fraction  of  it  was  able  to  get  inside 
after  Mr.  Moody  had  finished  his  sermon  and  Dr.  Torrey  started  the 
call  for  volunteers  in  the  service. 

"  Mr.  Moody  was  one  of  the  first  men  on  the  stage  at  the  morning 
session,  pacing  up  and  down  the  front.  He  saw  the  throng  pouring 
in.  Hundreds  of  singers  were  coming  through  the  back  entrance 
and  climbing  into  places  in  the  tiers  of  seats,  which  ran  back  like  the 
side  of  a  pyramid.  He  gave  orders  like  a  general.  There  must  be 
a  good  beginning.  He  said  a  good  beginning  meant  half  the  battle. 
He  urged  the  choir  to  sing  as  if  it  meant  it.  He  did  not  want  any 
lagging.  The  organist  must  make  the  organ  thunder.  He  told  the 
two  hundred  preachers  who  sat  on  the  stage  that  they  were  there 
for  work — not  for  dignity.  He  was  going  to  turn  the  battery  towards 
Sinai." 

Chicago  was  always  dear  to  Mr.  Moody's  heart,  and  here  he  always 
counted  on  the  sympathy  of  many  friends.  As  in  1876  and  in  1897, 
the  same  cordial  welcome  always  waited  for  him  in  the  city  of  his 
earlier  Christian  activities. 

On  the  close  of  the  Chicago  campaign  Moody  began  a  mission 
in  Boston  that  in  many  respects  presented  peculiar  difficulties.  The 
"  hub  "  of  New  England's  culture  and  refinement  is  the  centre  of 
every  new  philosophy  and  fad,  while  materialism  and  rationalism  are 
widely  spread.  The  idea  of  a  revival  in  Boston  was  repugnant  to 
many  people,  and  on  many  sides  he  was  subjected  to  hostile  criticism 
and  false  reports,  often  of  a  personal  nature.  But  if  he  experienced 
strong  opposition  from  such  sources,  he  received,  on  the  other  hand, 
17 


292  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

no  less  hearty  support  from  others.  Among  these  were  many  who 
became  his  confidential  advisers  in  later  projects,  including,  among 
others,  Mr.  Henry  M.  Moore,  than  whom  Moody  had  no  more  valued 
supporter  or  closer  friend;  Mr.  Henry  Durant,  whose  counsel  was  of 
such  great  value  in  the  founding  of  the  Northfield  schools,  and  Dr. 
A.  J.  Gordon,  whose  assistance  at  the  Northfield  conferences  was  of 
inestimable  value. 

In  Boston,  as  in  Chicago,  a  large  temporary  building  was  erected 
for  the  mission,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  six  thousand.  A  repre- 
sentative committee  of  prominent  ministers  and  laymen  of  all  denomi- 
nations supported  the  work,  and  from  the  first  great  interest  was 
shown.  The  following  appreciation  of  the  Boston  work  was  given  at 
the  close  of  the  mission  by  Dr.  Joseph  Cook,  in  prefacing  one  of  his 
Monday  lectures : 

"  It  will  always  stand  uncontrovertibly  that  a  structure  which 
holds  from  six  thousand  to  seven  thousand  people  has  been  opened 
in  Boston  for  religious  audiences,  and  that  week  after  week,,  for  two 
months,  on  every  fair  day,  and  often  twice  or  thrice  a  day,  when  an 
undiluted  Christianity  has  been  proclaimed  there,  this  building  was 
filled  to  copious  overflowing.  What  other  cause  would  have  filled  it 
as  often  and  as  long?  This  is  the  large  question  which  Edinburgh 
and  London,  Chicago  and  San  Francisco,  will  ask. 

"  As  a  help  to  an  interior  view  of  Massachusetts  and  its  capital,  it 
it  not  improper  for  me  to  state  what  the  evangelists  themselves  could 
not,  perhaps,  with  propriety  say  publicly,  that  their  notion  is  that  in 
Boston  the  average  result  of  their  work  has  been  better  than  it  was 
in  Edinburgh. 

"  In  one  particular  this  revival  certainly  surpasses  that  under 
Whitefield  in  this  city  in  1740 — namely,  in  the  extent  to  which  the 
press  has  been  enlisted  in  the  work  of  sending  religious  truth  abroad. 
All  the  leading  respectable  newspapers  of  Boston  have  favored  the 
revival.  In  the  next  place,  it  deserves  to  be  mentioned  that  religious 
visitation  from  house  to  house,  and  especially  among  the  perishing 


Chicago  and  Boston  293 

and  degraded,  is  now  going  forward  in  a  hopeful  manner  in  this  city. 
And  we  have  yet  to  speak  of  the  prayer-meetings  among  the  business 
men,  which  have  not  yet  attained  the  height  of  their  influence. 

"  Let  me  mention,  as  a  fourth  prominent  result  of  this  revival,  the 
great  effort  made  for  temperance.  We  have  done  more  in  that  par- 
ticular than  was  done  in  Boston  in  Whitefield's  day,  for  in  His  time 
men  were  not  awake  to  that  theme." 

The  five  missions  conducted  in  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  New  York, 
Chicago,  and  Boston  during  the  years  1875,  J876,  and  1877  may  be 
properly  termed  the  beginning  of  an  evangelistic  mission  in  America 
covering  a  period  of  over  twenty  years.  To  recount  the  hundreds  of 
cities  visited,  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  in  Canada,  and  ex- 
tending even  to  Mexico,  would  be  very  largely  a  repetition  of  previous 
incidents  and  methods  of  work.  North,  South,  East,  and  West,  Mr. 
Moody  visited  all  the  leading  cities  of  the  continent.  In  some  cases 
he  devoted  an  entire  winter  to  work  along  evangelistic  lines  and  in 
Bible  readings  among  Christians.  This  was  the  case  in  Baltimore, 
St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco,  in  each  of  which  he  stayed  from  five  to 
six  months.  Often  his  missions  would  close  with  a  short  conven- 
tion for  Christians,  the  purpose  being  to  awaken  greater  interest  in 
church  work  and  evangelistic  effort,  and  there  would  always  be  the 
same  earnest  appeal  to  young  converts  to  do  what  they  could  to  show 
their  gratitude  in  working  for  the  church. 

In  later  years  Mr.  Moody  was  often  criticised  for  devoting  so  much 
time  and  energy  in  preaching  to  Christians.  His  special  gift,  it  was 
asserted,  was  to  evangelize,  and  it  was  unwise  for  him  to  turn  from  the 
unconverted  masses  to  try  to  arouse  Christians.  Others  claimed  that 
the  earlier  missions  had  not  left  a  permanent  result  in  the  communi- 
ties where  they  had  apparently  aroused  greatest  interest  and  had  the 
largest  attendance.  This  twofold  criticism  could  have  been  refuted 
readily  had  any  one  accompanied  him  to  any  town  in  which  he 
had  ever  before  been  engaged  in  sustained  effort.  His  repeated  ex- 
perience was  that  in  any  average  church  or  hall  in  such  places  many 


294  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

who  had  been  led  to  Christ  through  his  ministry,  or  Christians  who 
had  been  themselves  helped  or  had  had  relatives  converted  under  Mr. 
Moody,  would  constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  audience.  They 
would  come  early  to  the  place  of  meeting  and  take  the  nearest  seats, 
and  those  for  whom  he  specially  sought  to  preach  the  Gospel  would 
be  either  crowded  out  or  find  places  only  in  a  remote  part  of  the  hall. 
Thus  his  very  success  in  God's  work  became,  in  many  places,  an  actual 
hindrance  to  preaching  the  Gospel  to  those  who  had  never  accepted 
Christ. 

It  was  for  the  same  reason  that  Mr.  Moody  was  frequently  unable 
to  conduct  an  inquiry  meeting.  Although  firmly  believing  in  per- 
sonal dealing,  he  was  confronted  in  many  places  with  the  twofold 
difficulty  of  being  unable  to  secure  efficient  Christian  workers  suffi- 
ciently familiar  with  God's  Word  to  lead  inquiring  souls  to  the 
Master,  and  the  interruptions  he  would  be  subjected  to  himself  when 
dealing  personally  with  those  who  wanted  his  help.  On  such  occa- 
sions it  would  often  seem  more  like  a  testimony  meeting  than  an 
inquiry-room,  as  one  after  another  would  come  forward  to  tell  Mr. 
Moody  how  they  had  been  led  to  Christ  through  him  during  some 
former  mission. 

Even  in  cities  remote  from  the  scenes  of  earlier  missions  he  would 
receive  these  testimonies.  During  his  last  extended  tour  on  the 
Pacific  coast  in  the  winter  of  1899  he  was  continually  meeting  those 
who  dated  their  Christian  life  from  missions  he  had  conducted  years 
before  in  some  city  in  the  Eastern  States  or  in  Great  Britain. 

For  these  reasons  Mr.  Moody  was  always  looking  for  new  fields, 
and  on  the  tour  just  mentioned  he  accepted  invitations  to  the  newly 
settled  towns  of  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona.  After  spend- 
ing a  number  of  weeks  in  Denver  and  Colorado  Springs  he  began  a 
series  of  short  missions  in  places  he  had  never  before  visited.  In 
some  of  these  there  was  little  support  to  be  counted  on,  as  the  Chris- 
tian portion  of  the  population  was  inconsiderable  among  the  large 
number  of  fortune-seekers  attracted  to  the  country  solely  by  the  idea 


Chicago  and  Boston  295 

of  money-making  or  adventure.  But  here  he  doubled  his  energies, 
and  was  richly  rewarded.  Speaking  of  the  difficulties  in  this  work,  he 
said :  "  Last  fall  I  prayed  God  to  send  me  to  a  hard  field,  and  He  has 
answered  my  prayer."  But  difficulties  were  always  an  incentive  to 
harder  work  in  his  case,  and  he  spoke  longingly  of  the  possibilities 
of  a  longer  mission  than  he  was  then  able  to  make  in  these  places. 
His  work  was  more  than  once  successful  in  bringing  a  prodigal  to 
himself.  In  one  town  in  the  new  country  he  received  a  hurriedly 
written  note  from  a  wanderer  after  a  sermon  on  "  Repentance," 
stating  that  he  had  left  the  service  that  night  during  the  sermon,  con- 
victed of  his  sin,  and  was  leaving  by  the  midnight  train  for  his  home 
in  Philadelphia,  to  seek  his  parents'  pardon  for  his  cruel  treatment 
and  desertion. 

Striking  as  is  the  impression  produced  by  great  bodies  of  men 
yielding  to  a  common  emotion,  there  is  something  almost  equally 
forcible  in  these  picturesque,  individual  incidents.  In  reading  ac- 
counts of  thousands  turned  away  from  crowded  halls,  and  of  thou- 
sands converted  by  certain  definite  missions,  one  is  liable  to  forget 
that  these  crowds  are  all  made  up  of  single  souls,  and  that  men  are 
gained  one  by  one.  Mr.  Moody  was  much  given  to  the  man-to-man 
method;  he  was  especially  interested  in  the  inquiry-room,  and  always 
laid  great  stress  on  the  necessity  for  competent  helpers  in  this  work. 
"  Let  every  one  of  us  try  to  get  one  soul !  "  was  his  constant  appeal. 
And  how  many  he  won  personally  in  this  way  cannot  possibly  be 
estimated. 

Nor,  indeed,  did  he  care  to  estimate  them.  He  was  intolerant  of 
that  kind  of  statistics.  When  a  minister  recently  asked  him  how 
many  souls  had  been  saved  under  his  preaching,  he  answered,  "  I 
don't  know  anything  about  that,  Doctor.  Thank  God,  I  don't  have 
to.  I  don't  keep  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life." 

In  reviewing  the  work  of  these  months  and  comparing  the  missions 
held  in  Great  Britain  and  in  America,  Prof.  W.  D.  Mackenzie  said 
recently : 


296  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  It  is  a  strange  fact,  and  one  that  strikes  a  kind  of  awe  into  the 
soul  whenever  it  is  contemplated  afresh,  that  Mr.  Moody's  career  of 
evangelism  reached  its  height  in  America  during  a  period  of  extraor- 
dinary material  prosperity,  and  in  Great  Britain  during  a  period  of 
extraordinary  intellectual  scepticism  and  religious  depression,  the 
two  conditions  most  hostile  to  faith.  In  the  face  of  the  claims  of  the 
world,  he  preached  the  claims  of  the  living  God  and  His  Gospel.  He 
went  from  end  to  end  of  this  land  calling  multitudes  away  from  mere 
earthliness  of  interest,  and  from  the  greed  for  wealth  and  prosperity, 
to  the  problem  of  individual  salvation  and  the  concerns  of  everlasting 
life.  In  England  he  found  himself  in  communities  where  philosophy 
and  science  had  almost  tied  the  tongues  of  many  preachers  and  chilled 
the  devotion  of  multitudes  of  the  most  intelligent  classes.  He  did 
not  attempt  to  reconcile  science  and  religion,  nor  to  meet  the  terrific 
onslaught  of  a  revolutionary  philosophy  upon  the  Christian  faith. 
Simply  and  powerfully  and  in  the  Holy  Spirit  he  preached  the  Gospel, 
and  compelled  an  amazed  people  to  see  that  the  might  of  that  Gospel 
is  as  unquestionable  and  divine  as  ever.  Moody's  work  was  one  of 
the  most  powerful  influences  in  stemming  the  tide  of  doubt  which 
was  flowing  over  England  in  the  7o's. 

"  In  Scotland  he  rendered  the  same  service,  and  also  another,  for 
vast  portions  of  Scotland  had  remained  invincibly  Christian,  but  the 
Christianity  of  those  days  was  stiff  and  formal,  severe  and  ungenial. 
Few  churches  used  hymns,  and  fewer  still  had  organs.  The  Estab- 
lished Church  had  begun  to  recover  popularity,  and  its  empty  build- 
ings were  beginning  to  fill;  but  it  lacked  the  warmth  of  true  evan- 
gelism. The  Free  Church  had  lost  most  of  its  fervent  and  brilliant 
leaders  of  earlier  days,  and  a  new  class  of  men  were  growing  up, 
scholarly  and  powerful  but  again  inclined  to  formality  of  preaching, 
and  many  doubted." 


CHAPTER   XXVI 
SECOND  EXTENDED  MISSION  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 

THE  memory  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  in  Great  Britain  was  a  great 
inducement  to  him  to  accept  a  most  urgent  invitation  to 
return  for  a  similar  mission  in  the  fall  of  1881.  In  many 
respects  the  work  of  this  visit  was  like  that  of  the  first;  many  of  its 
experiences  were  repeated  in  the  cities  visited  on  this  occasion;  it 
almost  seemed  that  he  took  up  the  work  just  where  he  had  left  it  six 
years  before.  From  the  first  he  met  the  heartiest  support  from  min- 
isters of  all  denominations,  and  the  same  general  interest  was  evinced 
everywhere.  As  on  the  previous  occasion,  the  mission  began  in  the 
North  of  England,  this  time  in  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  where  Mr.  Moody 
conducted  meetings  during  the  latter  part  of  October  and  the  first 
two  weeks  of  November. 

Edinburgh  was  then  visited,  and  a  six  weeks'  mission  was  held, 
and  this  was  followed  by  five  months'  work  in  Glasgow  and  the  imme- 
diate vicinity.  In  this  city  Prof.  Henry  Drummond  again  assisted 
Mr.  Moody  in  his  work,  and  the  friendship  begun  during  the  earlier 
visit  became  more  deeply  rooted.  Saturday,  which  Mr.  Moody 
observed  as  his  day  of  rest,  was  usually  spent  with  his  family,  and 
Drummond  was  often  a  welcome  addition  to  the  small  circle.  Mr. 
Moody  would  turn  continually  to  him  in  those  days  for  advice  and 
fellowship,  and  their  attachment  deepened  into  the  warmest  love. 

In  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Mr.  Moody  introduced  a  new  feature 
into  his  work,  by  conducting  Saturday  morning  meetings  for  chil- 
dren. On  these  occasions  he  would  give  "  illustrated  sermons  "  to 


298  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  little  ones,  presenting  the  gospel  truth  through  sight  as  well  as 
hearing. 

"  Altogether  it  was  a  novel  and  a  pretty  sight,"  says  a  writer  in  de- 
scribing one  of  these  services,  "  the  mingling  of  white-headed  and 
venerable  fathers  with  bright  little  children,  some  of  them  not  more 
than  five  years  old.  For  example,  Mr.  Sankey  was  quite  surrounded 
with  little  people;  Dr.  Cairns,  too,  was  besieged,  and  it  would  be  hard 
to  decide  whether  the  esteemed  Principal  or  his  youthful  neighbors 
appeared  the  happier.  William  Dickson  and  several  other  gentlemen 
acted  the  part  of  attentive  and  kindly  monitors. 

"  Mr.  Moody  began  his  address  to  the  children  by  reading  from  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  three  verses,  beginning :  '  Ye  are  the  light  of 
the  world!  After  speaking  about  the  light  of  the  world,  he  showed 
that  children  may  be  lights,  and  by  a  series  of  questions  brought  out 
the  idea  that  children  should  be  obedient.  Accepting  this  answer, 
he  told  the  story  of  Adam's  fall  because  of  his  disobedience. 

"  Suddenly  he  called  upon  Mr.  Dickson  to  produce  a  candle,  to 
place  it  on  the  table,  and  to  clear  the  table  of  everything  else,  so  that 
everybody  might  see  the  light.  The  burning  candle  was  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  table. 

' '  Now/  he  added,  '  we  will  call  that  light  Obedience.  Remember 
that.  Mr.  Dickson,  put  Obedience  under  a  bushel.'  Immediately 
Mr.  Dickson  covered  the  candle  with  a  bushel. 

' '  Is  that  right?'  asked  Mr.  Moody.  'No;  for  neither  do  men  light 
a  candle  and  put  it  under  a  bushel;  but  on  a  candlestick  and  it  giveth 
light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house.'  He  ordered  the  bushel  raised 
again,  and  Obedience  was  once  more  seen  '  giving  light  to  all  that 
were  in  the  house,'  this  time  placed  not  under,  but  on  the  top  of  the 
bushel.  '  Adam,'  Mr.  Moody  proceeded  to  remark, '  when  he  sinned, 
hid  himself,  and  was  thus  like  the  candle  under  a  bushel.' 

"  As  he  proceeded,  he  had  other  candles  lighted,  giving  to  each  a 
name,  and  now  and  again  asking  all  the  children  to  repeat  them, 
occasionally  telling  anecdotes  applicable  to  the  matter  in  hand  and 


Second  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  299 

asking  for  illustrative  texts.  The  list  of  lights  when  completed  was 
as  follows :  Obedience,  Kindness,  Forgiveness,  Truth,  Peacemaking, 
Temperance,  Faith,  Mercy,  Patience,  Cheerfulness,  Love.  The  meet- 
ing passed  all  too  quickly  for  the  little  people,  who  thought  that  Mr. 
Moody  was  one  of  the  best  ministers  they  had  ever  heard." 

Dr.  Andrew  A.  Bonar,  who  had  worked  with  Mr.  Moody  in  the 
first  campaign  in  1874,  and  had  also  been  with  him  in  Northfield  in 
1 88 1,  made  this  entry  in  his  diary  on  June  9,  1882 : 

"  This  week  Mr.  Moody  closes  his  five  months'  work  among  us. 
And,  on  looking  back,  I  think  it  was  the  Lord  who  inclined  me  to  go 
last  season  to  America  and  thus  help  to  engage  him  to  come  to  us. 
I  thank  the  Lord  for  my  being  used  in  some  way  to  help  him  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Word  and  truth.  It  seems  to  me  plain  that  the 
Lord  shows  His  sovereignty  by  making  that  man  a  vessel  through 
which  the  converting  power  of  God  may  be  poured  out  on  various 
classes  of  men.  The  drunkards  have  had  their  day  of  visitation,  and 
many  others  of  the  working  men  especially.  I  can  now  see  in  the 
great  blessing  before  us  an  answer  to  my  prayers  on  board  the  ship 
in  my  journey  to  and  from  America;  Jeremiah,  xxxiii.  3  has  been  ful- 
filled in  me.  He  has  shown  me  great  things  which  I  knew  not.  One 
marked  effect  upon  ministers  here  has  been  the  state  of  expectation 
in  which  they  now  are;  they  are  looking  for  real  results." 

Closing  his  work  in  Glasgow  in  June,  having  held  meetings  there 
for  five  months,  Mr.  Moody  made  short  visits  to  some  of  the  large 
centres  of  Scotland,  holding  conventions  and  organizing  evangelistic 
work. 

During  the  winter  a  large  number  of  invitations  had  been  con- 
tinually coming  to  Mr.  Moody  to  visit  different  English  cities,  as  well 
as  Ireland  and  Wales.  In  order  to  perfect  arrangements  for  the  com- 
ing year,  a  committee  of  seventy  gentlemen,  representing  the  differ- 
ent cities  that  wished  Mr.  Moody  to  visit  them,  met  him  in  London. 
In  this  conference  plans  were  made  for  visiting  the  leading  cities  of 
the  South  of  England  and  Wales.  Mr.  Moody  made  a  characteristic 


300  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

address,  saying  that  he  could  not  visit  in  a  lifetime  all  the  places  from 
which  invitations  had  come.  He  did  not  intend  to  spend  the  remain- 
der of  his  days  in  England,  for  he  felt  that  his  work  lay  more  in 
America.  He  thought  that  if  he  devoted  some  months  to  the  princi- 
pal towns  of  Scotland,  then  gave  a  year  to  England,  with  a  visit  to 
Paris  and  Ireland,  that  a  year  in  London  would  finish  his  mission  in 
that  country.  The  latter  was  referred  to  a  London  committee,  and 
the  programme  outlined  by  Mr.  Moody  was  practically  carried  out. 

Mr.  Stebbins,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Moody  on  his  mission  at  this 
time,  writes  as  follows : 

"  We  had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  Mr.  Moody  and  Professor 
Drummond  on  a  short  visit  to  many  of  the  larger  to\vns  and  cities 
throughout  Scotland.  This  tour  Mr.  Moody  enjoyed  to  the  full. 
The  change  from  the  crowded  and  smoky  city  to  the  fresh  and  invig- 
orating air  of  the  Scottish  hills,  covered  with  heather  and  dotted  over 
with  grazing  herds  of  sheep  and  cattle,  was  a  constant  source  of 
delight  to  him.  In  this  campaign  we  took  in  many  of  the  small 
towns  as  well  as  the  large  cities.  Often  they  were  near  together,  so 
we  four  would  drive  from  place  to  place  instead  of  going  by  rail.  Mr. 
Moody  was  always  troubled  because  the  parks  or  landed  estates,  with 
their  beautiful  castles  and  gardens,  were  surrounded  by  high  stone 
walls  that  shut  in  all  their  beauty.  How  he  enjoyed  those  drives! 
He  noticed  every  babbling  brook,  and  not  a  lark  soaring  to  heaven 
nor  a  hedge-row  escaped  his  attention.  Flowers  were  always  a  source 
of  pleasure  to  him,  and  often  he  would  stop  the  carriage,  and  Professor 
Drummond  would  jump  out  to  pick  them,  and  then  tell  us  the  names, 
and  point  out  to  us  new  beauties  of  shape  or  color." 

After  a  fortnight's  rest  with  his  family  in  Switzerland  Mr.  Moody 
began  the  winter's  mission  by  visiting  Swansea,  Cardiff,  Newport, 
Plymouth,  and  Devonport  during  September  and  the  first  week  in 
October;  then  a  fortnight  in  Paris,  a  week  in  Bristol,  a  week  each  at 
Cambridge  and  Oxford,  and  meetings  lasting  from  three  days  to  a 
week  in  Torquay,  Exeter,  Southampton,  Portsmouth,  and  Brighton 


Second  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  301 

through  October,  November,  and  December.  The  month  of  Janu- 
ary, 1883,  he  spent  in  Ireland;  the  month  of  February  was  divided 
between  Birmingham,  Leicester,  and  Nottingham;  and  two  weeks' 
meetings  were  held  each  in  Manchester,  Leeds,  and  Liverpool. 

In  this  work  in  Great  Britain  there  was  the  same  programme  as  on 
the  previous  visit,  the  evangelistic  campaign  ending  in  a  London 
mission.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  meetings  in  Liverpool  in  the  latter 
part  of  April  Mr.  Moody  returned  to  America.  At  this  time  the 
Northfield  Seminary  and  Mount  Hermon  School  were  in  their  in- 
fancy, and  needed  his  presence  for  several  months'  supervision  and 
personal  care.  In  the  fall,  however,  he  returned  to  Britain,  remain- 
ing in  Ireland  for  a  month's  work  before  beginning  that  memorable 
eight  months'  mission  in  London. 

Great  as  had  been  the  success  of  the  meetings  in  London  in  1875, 
Moody's  second  visit  in  1883  was  marked  by  still  greater  prepara- 
tions. A  large  committee  was  formed  in  the  early  spring  composed 
of  many  of  the  leading  Christian  men  in  London;  Hugh  M.  Mathe- 
son,  to  whom  Mr.  Moody  had  committed  the  hymn-book  royalty  in 
1875,  was  elected  chairman.  The  committee  took  charge  of  the 
erection  of  large  buildings  of  corrugated  iron  and  wood  in  London. 
This  work  devolved  chiefly  upon  Robert  Paton  and  Mr.  Matheson, 
who  had  to  select  the  sites,  arrange  with  the  architects  of  the  build- 
ings, and  generally  manage  the  whole  business.  Concerning  this 
campaign,  in  which  he  took  such  an  active  part,  Mr.  Matheson 
said: 

"  We  were  discussing  with  Mr.  Moody,  at  a  large  meeting,  the 
method  to  be  followed  in  London,  using  a  plan  which  I  prepared  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment  while  occupying  the  chair,  and  which  denned 
the  order  to  be  followed  in  the  missions  in  the  various  districts  north 
and  south  of  the  Thames,  and  the  dates  of  each.  To  the  amazement  of 
the  committee,  this  was  accepted  absolutely  by  Mr.  Moody,  and  the 
programme  was  followed  in  the  minutest  detail  all  through  the  Lon- 
don campaign,  with  a  success  that  was  quite  remarkable.  Two  halls 


302  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

were  built — one  at  Islington,  in  the  grounds  of  the  Priory,  and  the 
other  at  Wandsworth.  When  the  Islington  meetings  were  finished 
and  we  went  to  Wandsworth,  the  Islington  hall  was  taken  down  and 
erected  at  St.  Pancras,  and  while  St.  Pancras  was  being  occupied, 
the  Wandsworth  hall  was  removed  to  Clapham,  and  so  on;  north 
and  south  being  occupied  alternately  for  three  weeks  in  each  place, 
until  practically  the  entire  city  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  being 
present  at  the  services.  It  was  a  wonderful  time  and  made  a  very 
deep  impression. 

"  The  whole  mission  cost  over  £20,000,  and  this  sum  was  raised  by 
special  contributions.  The  royalty  on  hymn-books  was  arranged 
very  much  as  on  the  former  occasion,  save  that  this  time  Messrs. 
Quintin  Hogg  and  Robert  Paton  were  associated  with  me,  and  shared 
the  responsibility.  We  arranged  in  detail  with  Messrs.  Morgan  and 
Scott  the  royalties  to  be  paid  upon  each  edition  of  the  book,  and  at 
the  end  I  was  able  to  remit  to  America,  to  trustees  for  the  Northfield 
schools  which  Mr.  Moody  was  desirous  of  founding,  and  which  have 
since  attracted  so  much  attention,  no  less  a  sum  than  £10,000  (about 
$50,000)." 

On  November  4,  1883,  the  long  campaign  in  London  was  begun. 
Hall  No.  i  was  called  Priory  Hall,  and  was  erected  in  Upper  Street, 
Islington.  The  hall  had  a  seating  capacity  of  five  thousand,  and  the 
inside  appearance  was  pleasing  to  the  eye,  while  in  the  matter  of 
acoustics  it  was  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible. 

At  the  opening  meeting  Mr.  Moody  said : 

"  I  have  come  to  London  with  high  hopes  and  great  expectations. 
I  have  about  one  hundred  times  more  faith  than  I  had  when  I  came 
here  eight  years  ago.  Some  people  have  said  that  the  former  work 
in  London  hasn't  lasted.  I  want  to  say  that  since  then  I  have  been 
preaching  all  through  America — from  Maine  to  the  Pacific  slope — 
and  that  wherever  I  have  gone  I  have  found  the  fruit  of  that  London 
work;  it  is  scattered  all  over  the  earth." 

At  this  time  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  addressed  a  letter  to  the 


Second  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  303 

vicar  of  St.  John's,  Blackheath,  expressing  his  desire  that  the  vicar 
"  should  give  counsel  and  sympathy  to  our  kinsmen,  the  American 
evangelists,  who  propose  to  help  us  with  our  overwhelming  work  in 
South  London  this  winter."  He  said  that  these  men  were  personally 
known  to  him.  "  More  than  once  I  have  come  across  their  track  in 
their  own  country,  and  I  have  heard  nothing  but  good  of  them.  To 
call  them  schismatics  is  to  trifle  with  language;  to  suspect  them  of 
sectarian  motives  is  to  do  them  a  great  injustice.  Their  religious 
services  are  simple,  reverent,  and  deeply  impressive.  Their  recent 
labors,  not  only  in  our  largest  towns,  but  also  in  our  two  great  English 
universities,  are  standing  the  hardest  test,  that  of  time.  Should  any 
pne  doubt  if  their  doctrine  is  pure  or  their  works  solid,  let  him  do 
what  I  myself  have  done  and  hope  to  do  again — hear  and  judge  for 
himself.  My  own  desire  is  that  God  will  raise  up  ten  thousand  such 
men  to  proclaim  His  redeeming  love." 

In  referring  to  the  meetings  the  first  week,  "  The  Pall  Mall  Ga- 
zette "  said : 

"  Cultured  society  will  blush  to  know  anything  about  Messrs. 
Moody  and  Sankey  and  others  of  their  crowd.  Revivalism  in  relig- 
ion, and  American  revivalism  in  particular,  is  desperately  vulgar,  but 
unfortunately  the  same  might  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  every  popu- 
lar movement,  religious  and  irreligious,  of  all  kinds.  Almost  every 
religion  has  its  origin  among  men  of  low  degree,  and  the  sons  of 
fishermen  and  carpenters  who  create  or  revive  the  faiths  and  super- 
stitions of  mankind  are,  as  a  rule,  very  objectionable  persons  in  the 
estimation  of  the  men  of  light  and  leading  of  their  time.  It  is  only 
when  the  first  fervor  of  the  new  faith  begins  to  cool,  and  its  vitality  to 
disappear,  that  polite  society  condescends  to  investigate  its  origin 
and  to  study  the  phenomena,  sociological  or  otherwise,  which  it  pre- 
sents. The  enchantment  of  distance  renders  it  possible  for  self- 
respecting  sons  of  culture  to  study,  after  the  lapse  of  a  century,  relig- 
ious revivals  which,  to  their  contemporaries,  were  too  vulgar  to  be 
noticed  except  with  a  passing  sneer. 


304  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  It  is  somewhat  irrational,  however,  to  subject  the  scoriae  and  lava 
of  extinct  volcanoes  to  the  most  minute  analysis  while  craters  in  full 
eruption  are  treated  as  non-existent;  nor  can  a  plain  man  see  the 
sense  of  poring  over  dreary  tomes,  describing  the  enthusiasm  of  some 
preaching  friars  of  the  Middle  Ages,  often  as  dirty  and  bigoted  as 
they  were  vulgar,  while  the  labors  of  such  latter-day  friars  as  the 
American  revivalists  who  have  now  pitched  their  tent — in  this  case 
a  portable  iron  building  capable  of  holding  five  thousand  persons — 
in  the  North  of  London  are  disregarded. 

"  Moody  and  Sankey  are  not,  it  is  true,  graduates  of  any  university. 
They  are  men  of  the  people,  speaking  the  language  and  using  the 
methods  not  of  the  refined,  but  of  the  generality.  Yet  they  have 
probably  left  a  deeper  impress  of  their  individuality  upon  one  great 
section  of  English  men  and  English  women  than  any  other  persons 
who  could  be  named.  Whatever  we  may  think  of  them,  however 
much  their  methods  may  grate  upon  the  susceptibilities  of  those  who 
have  at  length  succeeded  in  living  up  to  their  blue  china,  these  men 
are  factors  of  considerable  potency  in  the  complex  sum  of  influences 
which  make  up  contemporary  English  life.  As  such  they  merit 
more  attention  than  they  have  hitherto  received  from  the  organs  of 
public  opinion,  and  for  that  reason  a  full  account  of  the  American 
revivalists  and  of  their  services  last  night,  which  we  publish  in  another 
part  of  the  paper,  may  be  studied  with  interest  by  some  of  our  readers, 
and  passed  over — let  us  hope  without  too  great  a  shock  to  their  feel- 
ings— by  the  rest." 

In  the  first  London  campaign  in  1875  great  crowds  gathered  at  a 
few  large  halls,  but  in  the  second  series  of  meetings  the  halls  were 
taken  to  the  crowded  districts,  the  object  being  to  get  nearer  to  the 
people  who  could  not  or  would  not  go  to  the  larger  and  more  central 
halls,  and  that  object  was  admirably  secured.  In  the  Nazareth  syna- 
gogue the  Saviour  quoted  the  prophecy  from  Isaiah  that  "  t fa  poor 
have  tht  Gospel  preached  unto  them''  While  no  class  was  excluded 
during  these  series  of  meetings,  the  poor  especially  were  reached. 


Second  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  305 

The  Rev.  J.  Guinness  Rogers  wrote  to  "  The  London  Congrega- 
tionalist  "  at  the  time : 

"  Mr.  Moody's  conduct  of  the  entire  meeting  was  a  remarkable 
manifestation  of  the  way  in  which  the  fervor  of  his  zeal  is  helped  by 
his  extraordinary  sagacity,  and  by  the  tact  of  a  shrewd  man.  Sancti- 
fied common-sense  is  characteristic  of  the  man  everywhere,  and  quite 
as  much  in  his  management  of  the  proceedings  as  in  his  own  address. 
He  understands  how  much  depends  on  details,  and  great  care  is 
given  to  the  veriest  trifle.  He  remembers,  too,  what  many  of  those 
who  claim  to  be  scientific  forget,  that  men  have  bodies  as  well  as 
souls,  and  that  these  two  act  and  react  upon  each  other,  and  he 
does  his  utmost  to  guard  against  the  discomfort  and  weariness  which 
may  so  easily  mar  the  effect  of  the  best  sermon.  His  one  aim  is  to 
get  that  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  if  he  sees  anything  which 
seems  to  hinder  him  in  this,  he  spares  no  effort  to  get  it  out  of  the 
way." 

During  the  mission  that  winter  meetings  were  held  in  all  parts  of 
London,  as  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the  temporary  buildings 
were  erected  on  eleven  different  sites,  from  Hampstead  Heath  on  the 
north  to  Croydon  on  the  south,  and  from  Stepney  on  the  east  to 
Kensington  on  the  west.  During  these  months  Mr.  Moody  spoke 
in  crowded  halls  at  least  twice  a  day,  and  on  several  occasions  four 
or  even  five  times.  It  was  estimated  that  during  the  London  mission 
he  spoke  to  over  two  million  people.  At  many  of  the  meetings 
entrance  was  by  ticket  only,  of  which  over  four  million  were  issued 
during  the  eight  months. 

On  May  27th  a  three  weeks'  mission  was  begun  on  the  Thames 
Embankment,  in  the  hall  situated  on  the  vacant  ground  near  Temple 
Gardens.  The  opening  service  at  Temple  Gardens  Hall  was  the 
beginning  of  the  end.  Since  the  work  had  included  the  outlying 
portions  of  the  metropolis  during  the  previous  seven  months,  it  was 
fitting  that  the  great  campaign  should  terminate  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  city.  The  attendance  was  very  large,  embracing  all  grades 


3o6  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  sections  of  the  community,  from  peers  of  the  realm  to  the  poorest 
of  the  poor. 

Mr.  Sankey  was  obliged  to  return  to  America  before  the  London 
meetings  closed,  as  his  health  necessitated  his  taking  a  rest.  The  addi- 
tional burden  thrown  upon  Mr.  Moody  by  his  colleague's  absence  only 
served  to  bring  out  into  stronger  relief  his  wonderful  powers  of 
adjustment  and  endurance.  From  early  morning  until  late  at  night, 
and  practically  all  day  on  Sunday,  he  was  busy  speaking,  active  in 
the  inquiry  meetings,  in  conference  with  committees  concerning  the 
work,  and  conferring  individually  with  those  who  needed  personal 
help. 

The  closing  of  this  mission  by  a  conference  for  Christians  was  in 
line  with  other  campaigns,  and  June  17-19  was  set  as  the  date  for  this 
feature  of  the  work.  In  the  afternoon  the  Lord's  Supper  was  ob- 
served, after  an  address  on  the  Holy  Spirit  by  Mr.  Moody.  In  his 
invitation  to  the  congregation  to  remain  to  the  memorial  feast,  he 
emphasized  the  fact  that  only  those  who  had  received  Christ  and 
were  in  communion  with  the  Lord  could  rightly  observe  the  ordi- 
nance, so  that  all  who  should  remain  would  do  so  as  a  confession  of 
faith  in  Christ.  The  sight  of  the  thousands  who  gathered  around  the 
sacred  emblems  was  deeply  touching  when  one  remembered  the 
divergence  of  thought  on  minor  matters  that  was  represented  here. 

At  the  close  of  the  mission  Mr.  Moody  accepted  an  invitation  to 
spend  a  few  days  for  rest  and  recreation  at  the  country  house  of 
T.  A.  Denny,  and  later  at  the  home  of  his  brother,  Edward  Denny. 
With  him  were  also  invited  a  score  or  more  of  those  who  had 
assisted  in  the  work  in  London,  including,  among  others,  Professor 
Drummond,  who  had  returned  from  this  tour  into  the  interior  of 
Africa  in  time  to  be  present  during  the  closing  weeks  of  the  meet- 
ings. Those  were  very  delightful  days  for  Mr.  Moody,  who,  free 
from  the  care  and  strain  of  his  great  work,  gave  himself  up  to  the 
relief  of  social  life,  enjoying  particularly  the  young  people's  games. 

On  one  occasion  during  this  period  of  rest  Mr.  Moody  succeeded 


Second  Extended  Mission  in  Great  Britain  309 

in  making  a  rich  discovery  for  the  Christian  world  by  his  persistent 
attempts  to  draw  from  Drummond  a  little  of  the  wealth  of  informa- 
tion that  he  possessed.  It  was  on  a  beautiful  Sunday  afternoon  in 
June,  when  they  were  together  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Edward  Denny,  not 
far  from  Tunbridge  Wells,  whence,  thirteen  years  later,  after  months 
of  painful  suffering,  Drummond  entered  upon  his  reward.  In  those 
days,  however,  he  was  at  the  zenith  of  physical  strength  and,  although 
standing  before  the  world  as  the  suddenly  famous  author  of  "  Natural 
Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,"  one  of  the  most  modest  and  unassum- 
ing of  God's  noblemen.  An  urgent  request  was  made  of  Mr.  Moody 
to  give  an  informal  address. 

"  No,"  was  the  response,  "  you've  been  hearing  me  for  eight 
months,  and  I'm  quite  exhausted.  Here's  Drummond;  he  will  give 
us  a  Bible  reading." 

With  characteristic  reluctance  Drummond  consented,  and  taking 
from  his  pocket  a  little  Testament,  he  read  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
First  Corinthians,  and  then,  without  a  note  and  in  the  most  informal 
way,  gave  that  beautiful  exposition  which  has  since  become  so  widely 
known  to  thousands  under  the  title  of  "  The  Greatest  Thing  in  the 
World."  Three  years  later,  when  visiting  Northfield  at  Mr.  Moody's 
special  request,  the  same  exposition  was  repeated,  both  at  the  Stu- 
dents' Conference  and  the  August  Conference,  and  in  response  to  Mr. 
Moody's  urgent  plea  it  was  later  published  in  its  present  booklet  form. 
Mr.  Moody  often  said  that  he  wished  this  address  to  be  read  in  the 
Northfield  schools  every  year,  and  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to 
have  it  read  once  a  month  in  every  church  till  it  was  known  by  heart. 

Professor  Drummond  was  only  twenty-two  when  in  1873  ne  began 
his  work  with  Mr.  Moody  in  Scotland.  When,  in  later  years,  the 
fires  of  criticism  were  kindled  about  Drummond,  his  great-hearted 
friend  stood  by  him.  He  believed  in  the  man  with  all  his  heart,  even 
though  he  might  not  follow  him  in  all  his  theories.  He  knew  him  to 
be  a  Christian  "who  lived  continually  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  First 
Corinthians."  Is  it  a  wonder  that  the  affection  between  these  broad- 


18 


310  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

minded,  loving-hearted  men  became  a  bond  that  could  not  be  sev- 
ered ?  To  those  who  knew  both  it  was  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that, 
speaking  to  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  alone,  at  different  times  in  the 
same  day,  each  should  say  of  his  friend : 

"  He  is  the  sweetest-tempered  Christian  I  ever  knew." 


CHAPTER    XXVII 
LATER  MISSIONS  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 

E  campaigns  of  1875-76  and  1876-77  in  the  larger  American 
cities  were  repeated  in  many  other  places  in  succeeding  years. 
Similar  records  of  great  meetings  in  Baltimore,  Cleveland, 
Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Denver,  San  Francisco,  Richmond  and  other 
cities  might  be  given.    Aside  from  the  years  1881-84  and  1891-92, 
when  he  was  abroad,  Mr.  Moody  filled  as  many  engagements  from 
September  till  May  as  could  be  crowded  into  eight  months  of  each 
year. 

Burlington,  Manchester,  Providence,  Springfield,  Hartford,  and 
New  Haven  were  among  the  cities  in  which  large  and  profitable  meet- 
ings ^vere  held  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1877-78.  All  New  England 
is  said  to  have  felt  the  influence  of  the  work  of  that  season. 

The  work  in  Baltimore  in  1878-79  was  particularly  successful.  One 
of  the  converts  was  Todd  B.  Hall,  a  detective  who  went  to  one  of 
the  meetings  to  arrest  a  criminal.  While  waiting  for  the  service  to 
end,  that  he  might  take  his  man  without  causing  a  commotion,  he 
says,  "  I  was  forced  to  accept  Christ  as  my  Saviour."  He  went 
directly  to  the  office  and  told  the  chief  of  the  detective  force  and  his 
associates  what  he  had  done;  then  he  went  home  and  told  his  wife, 
and  she,  too,  accepted  Christ.  For  more  than  a  score  of  years  he  has 
been  a  faithful  Christian  officer  and  a  great  blessing  to  many  poor 
fellows  whom  -he  has  arrested. 

St.  Louis  was  the  scene  of  the  evangelist's  labors  for  six  months  in 
the  winter  of  1879-80'  An  incident  from  that  winter's  work,  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  hhn : 


- 1 2  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  There  was  an  old  man  who  had  been  leading  an  ungodly  life,  but 
who  in  early  manhood  had  professed  Christianity.  He  came  into  the 
inquiry-room,  literally  broken  down.  About  midnight  that  old  man 
yielded  to  God  and  found  peace.  He  wiped  away  his  tears,  and  started 
home.  The  next  night  I  saw  him  in  the  audience  with  a  terrible  look 
in  his  face.  As  soon  as  I  had  finished  preaching,  I  went  to  him  and 
said : 

"  '  My  good  friend,  you  haven't  gone  back  into  darkness  again?  ' 

"  Said  he :  '  Oh,  Mr.  Moody,  it  has  been  the  most  wretched  day 
in  my  life.' 

"'Why  so?' 

"  '  Well,  this  morning,  I  started  out  as  soon  as  I  got  my  breakfast. 
I  have  several  married  children  in  this  city,  and  they  have  families. 
I  have  spent  all  the  day  going  around  and  telling  them  what  God  has 
done  for  me.  I  told  them  how  I  had  tasted  salvation,  and,  Mr.  Moody, 
I  hadn't  a  child  that  didn't  mock  me ! ' ' 

It  was  during  this  mission  in  St.  Louis  that  Valentine  Burke,  a 
notorious  prisoner,  was  convicted  of  sin  through  reading  in  a  daily 
paper  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  sermons  which  a  reporter  had  entitled 
"  How  the  Jailer  at  Philippi  Was  Caught."  Burke  had  passed  through 
a  town  called  Philippi,  in  a  neighboring  State,  and,  supposing  the 
jailer  of  that  town  had  been  arrested,  was  curious  to  learn  how  it  hap- 
pened. Nine  times  in  that  sermon  he  came  across  the  words,  "  Be- 
lieve on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  He  gave 
his  heart  to  God  and  became  a  changed  man.  Within  ten  years  he 
had  been  appointed  treasurer  of  the  sheriff's  office  and  was  an  active 
Christian  worker.  He  lived  a  consistent  life  in  a  public  position  of 
usefulness  until  his  death  in  1895. 

In  the  winter  of  1 880-81,  Mr.  Moody  was  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Con- 
cerning the  revival  in  California,  it  was  admitted  by  those  who  knew 
the  spiritual  condition  of  the  State  that  such  religious  interest  as  was 
then  manifested  had  never  before  agitated  California.  Its  human 
causes  were  not  single  or  simple.  "  The  spiritual  stagnation,  the 


Later  Missions  in  American  Cities  313 

sordid  worldliness,  the  frivolous  pleasure-seeking,  the  purblind  com- 
promising of  the  Church,"  to  use  the  words  of  a  Methodist  editor,  had 
produced  a  state  of  alarm  among  all  who  truly  feared  God.  The 
masses  were  sleeping.  It  was  deemed  expedient  to  do  something  to 
arouse  them.  Mr.  Moody  was  invited  to  the  coast,  and  most  encour- 
aging results  followed  his  mission. 

Concerning  the  work  in  San  Francisco,  "  The  Pacific  "  said : 
"  The  great  evangelistic  work  with  which  our  city  has  been  blessed 
for  the  last  five  months  is  now  drawing  to  a  close.  Day  after  day, 
week  after  week,  the  interest  has  been  unabated;  and  not  through  one 
church  alone,  but  through  all,  the  thrill  of  spiritual  life  has  run,  awak- 
ening the  drooping  graces  of  the  members  and  kindling  a  new  hope 
in  Christian  hearts.  Backsliders  have  been  restored;  the  hearts  of 
older  Christians,  who  have  long  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day, 
have  been  gladdened;  pastors  who  have  labored  on,  sowing  much  and 
reaping  little,  have  had  the  joy  of  welcoming  new-born  souls  into  the 
household  of  faith,  who  have  brought  with  them  new,  fresh  life  and 
vigor — and,  it  may  be  added,  new  responsibilities  also.  As  yet  many 
of  the  new  converts  are  ignorant  of  religious  truth ;  but,  in  the  weekly 
prayer-meetings,  in  the  Bible  classes,  they  will  receive  that  spiritual 
nourishment  that  they  must  have  to  grow.  Many  valuable  helpers 
are  also  added  to  the  band  of  Christian  workers  already  laboring,  in 
season  and  out  of  season — new  teachers  in  Sunday-school  and  helpers 
in  other  benevolent  work.  To  God  be  all  the  praise  for  this  blessed 
shower  of  grace,  which  we,  in  this  very  worldly  city,  had  long  desired 
to  see. 

"  Perhaps  the  event  which  will  mark  this  year  more  signally  than 
any  other  is  the  lifting  of  the  great  debt  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  Would  any  other  man  have  had  the  faith  and  courage  to 
undertake  such  an  apparently  hopeless  task?  For  three  weeks  and 
more  Mr.  Moody  has  labored  with  unwearied  persistence  and  faith  in 
this  great  undertaking.  His  great  heart  has  been  moved  with  the  clear 
view  of  the  needs  of  San  Francisco— its  multitude  of  young  men  that 


314  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

haunt  the  myriad  places  of  vice  and  crime  in  our  midst,  by  night  and 
by  day ;  the  lonely,  sick,  and  friendless  among  the  '  wandering  boys/ 
whose  only  safeguard  is  the  mother's  prayers  going  up  from  some 
distant  home.  Our  friends  in  the  country  have  an  equal  interest  in 
this  institution,  for  it  is  their  boys  that  we  are  seeking  to  meet  with 
Christian  influences,  as  they  come  in  such  numbers  to  our  city.  And 
now  the  work,  which  in  Eastern  cities  interposes  such  benign  in- 
fluences between  the  mighty  powers  of  evil  and  the  young  men  of  a 
great  city,  may  go  on  unhindered  and  accomplish  what  its  founders 
designed." 

In  the  midst  of  the  campaign  of  1881-84  in  Great  Britain,  Mr. 
Moody  came  home  to  rest  during  the  summer  of  1883.  Before  re- 
turning to  Europe,  a  three-days'  convention  was  held  in  Chicago,  in 
September,  similar  to  those  held  earlier  in  New  York,  Boston,  and 
Philadelphia.  Farwell  Hall  was  thronged  at  every  session  with 
clergymen,  city  missionaries,  Association  secretaries,  Sunday-school 
officers  and  teachers,  including  many  devout  women. 

During  the  seasons  of  1884-85  and  1885-86,  Mr.  Moody  bestowed 
his  attention  upon  the  smaller  cities  of  America.  His  plan  was  to  ar- 
range a  tour  including  a  chain  of  cities  across  some  important  belt  of 
territory,  remaining  about  three  days  in  each  place.  During  those 
three  days  he  preached,  perhaps,  three  sermons  a  day,  endeavoring  to 
concentrate  what  he  had  found  by  experience  to  be  his  most  effective 
arguments  and  appeals.  Whatever  time  was  not  thus  occupied  was 
for  the  most  part  spent  in  inquiry  work.  Other  evangelists  preceded 
and  followed  him,  and  in  each  place  the  ministers  garnered  the  harvest 
and  utilized  the  spiritual  awakening.  Within  two  years  he  was  able 
to  visit  cities  of  from  ten  to  one  or  two  hundred  thousand  population 
in  all  parts  of  North  America. 

In  the  fall  of  1895,  when  the  Atlanta  Exposition  was  drawing  thou- 
sands of  spectators,  Mr.  Moody  was  invited  to  that  city  and  preached 
for  several  weeks  in  the  Tabernacle,  which  seated  several  thousand 
people. 


Later  Missions  in  American  Cities  315 

So  great  was  the  blessing  received  by  the  New  York  churches  in 
1890,  that  a  committee  was  appointed  six  years  later  to  invite 
Mr.  Moody  to  visit  the  metropolis  again  that  fall.  He  hesitated  for 
some  time,  assuring  the  committee  that  he  considered  New  York 
to  be  the  hardest  city  to  reach  that  he  had  ever  visited;  that  he  was 
unable  to  get  hold  of  non-churchgoers  there.  As  soon  as  the 
doors  of  any  church  or  hall  were  opened,  the  seats  were  filled 
by  church  members  who  had  been  in  every  meeting  that  he  had 
held. 

"  I  am  not  blind  to  facts,  nor  troubled  with  mock  humility,"  he  said. 
"  Reputation  is  a  great  injury  in  many  places,  for  we  cannot  get  the 
people  that  we  are  after." 

It  was  finally  decided  to  accept  the  invitation  from  the  New  York 
ministers,  and  Cooper  Union  was  engaged.  The  meetings  began  early 
in  November,  and  lasted  until  the  holidays.  Overflow  meetings  were 
held  for  a  part  of  the  time,  and  evangelistic  meetings  were  started  in 
several  churches  and  chapels,  speakers  being  sent  from  the  main  meet- 
ing. Once  or  twice,  while  the  New  York  campaign  was  in  progress, 
Mr.  Moody  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  also  to  Boston,  his  place  at 
Cooper  Union  being  taken  by  friends. 

January  and  February,  1897,  were  spent  in  Boston,  the  evangelist 
holding  two  meetings  each  day  except  Saturday.  Although  in 
the  close  of  his  sixtieth"  year,  he  appeared  indefatigable,  his  en- 
thusiasm had  not  in  the  least  cooled,  nor  the  intense  earnestness 
which  was  so  great  a  power  with  his  audiences.  As  of  old, 
the  Boston  meetings  drew  together  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
society. 

One  day,  after  the  meeting  in  Tremont  Temple  closed,  a  fine- 
looking  gentleman  in  middle  life  went  up  to  the  evangelist  and 
said : 

"  Mr.  Moody,  you  do  not  know  who  I  am,  but  I  feel  I  must  speak 
to  you,  as  I  leave  for  California  to-night,  and  we  shall  probably  never 
meet  again.  Twenty-five  years  ago  you  were  speaking  in  London, 


316  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  I  and  two  other  rough  young  fellows  wandered  in  to  hear  you. 
We  were  moral  lepers  and  had  gone  far  in  all  kinds  of  sin.  The  Spirit 
of  God  touched  our  hearts  through  your  words  that  night.  We  did 
not  stop  to  speak  to  you,  but  when  we  came  out  of  the  house  onto  the 
walk  we  shook  hands  and  said  quietly  to  one  another :  '  From  this 
night  we  begin  a  new  life.'  One  of  the  three  died  in  Egypt  at  the 
head  of  his  regiment,  an  earnest  Christian  soldier.  The  second  is  a 
heroic  missionary  in  Africa,  and  I  am  the  third." 

While  in  Boston  he  celebrated  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  birth. 
This  was  the  occasion  of  the  international  present  which  made  it  pos- 
sible to  build  the  chapel  at  Mount  Hermon.  At  this  time  an  interview 
with  him  appeared  in  the  press,  in  which  he  was  asked  what  event 
influenced  his  becoming  an  evangelist. 

"  No  special  event,"  he  replied.  "  I  entered  upon  active  Christian 
work  in  Chicago,  and  the  more  I  did  the  more  I  seemed  to  have  power 
to  do.  It  was  a  chain  of  events  beginning  with  the  first  Sunday-school 
work.  When  a  man  knows  the  power  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  love,  he  ought  to  tell  it." 

"  What  was  the  principal  event  for  good  in  your  life?  " 

"  Well,  a  good  many  events  have  been  for  good,  but  perhaps  none 
better  than  the  surrender  of  my  will  to  God." 

"  What  advice  would  you  give,  Mr.  Moody,  to  young  men?  " 

' '  Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all 
tkese  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.'  " 

"  What  would  you  advise  them  to  do  to  change  their  mode  of  living 
if  the  life  be  not  pure?  " 

"  Be  cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  drive  impurity  out  by  pure 
thought  and  holy  influence." 

\  Speaking  of  his  birthday  anniversary,  Mr.  Moody  said :  "  I  don't 
realize  that  I  am  growing  old,  and  I  have  been  too  busy  to  pay  special 
attention  to  anniversaries.  As  I  have  often  said,  I  have  found  life 
better  and  better  as  it  passes." 

During  the  visit  to  Canon  City,  Colo.,  in  1899,  the  Governor  of  the 


Later  Missions  in  American  Cities  317 

State,  hearing  that  Mr.  Moody  was  to  speak  at  the  Penitentiary  on 
Thanksgiving  Day,  wrote  him,  inclosing  a  pardon  for  a  woman  who 
had  already  served  about  three  years.  Seven  years  more  were  before 
her.  Mr.  Moody  was  greatly  pleased  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  message. 
The  woman  was  quite  unaware  of  the  prospective  good  fortune.  At 
the  close  of  the  address,  Mr.  Moody  produced  the  document,  saying : 
"  I  have  a  pardon  in  my  hands  for  one  of  the  prisoners  before  me." 
He  had  intended  to  make  some  further  remarks,  but  immediately  he 
saw  the  strain  caused  by  the  announcement  was  so  severe  that  he 
dared  not  go  on.  Calling  the  name,  he  said :  "  Will  the  party  come 
forward  and  accept  the  Governor's  Thanksgiving  gift  ?  " 

The  woman  hesitated  a  moment,  then  arose,  uttered  a  shriek,  and, 
crossing  her  arms  over  her  breast,  fell  sobbing  and  laughing  across 
the  lap  of  the  woman  next  her.  Again  she  arose,  staggered  a  short 
distance,  and  again  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  matron  of  the  prison, 
burying  her  head  in  the  matron's  lap.  The  excitement  was  so 
intense  that  Mr.  Moody  would  not  do  more  than  make  a  very 
brief  application  of  the  scene  to  illustrate  God's  offer  of  pardon 
and  peace. 

Afterward  he  said  that  should  such  interest  or  excitement  be  man- 
ifest in  connection  with  any  of  his  meetings — when  men  and  women 
accepted  the  pardon  offered  for  all  sin — he  would  be  accused  of  ex- 
treme fanaticism  and  undue  working  on  the  emotions.  Strange  that 
men  prize  more  highly  the  pardon  of  a  fellow-man  than  the  forgive- 
ness of  their  God. 

While  in  California  Mr.  Moody  was  invited  to  visit  New  Zealand 
and  Australia.  Writing  from  Los  Angeles,  on  February  2/th,  he  said 
that  if  his  own  personal  pleasure  could  have  been  consulted  he  would 
at  once  have  cabled  his  acceptance,  but  there  were  several  obstacles 
which  prevented  his  going.  One  was  the  schools,  which  had  become 
an  important  part  of  his  life-work.  He  also  felt  it  difficult  to  leave  his 
own  country,  as  conditions  here  seemed  to  call  for  greater  labor  and 
activity  on  his  part  than  ever  before.  The  third  objection  to  accepting 


3i8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  invitation  was  that  by  the  advice  of  his  doctors  he  avoided  a  long 
and  especially  a  warm  ocean  voyage.  He  had  planned  to  visit  India 
and  China  in  a  trip  around  the  world,  but  was  obliged  to  give  it  up, 
on  the  urgent  counsel  of  those  whose  advice  he  was  accustomed  to 
follow. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY 

"^  •  ^HE  reward  of  service  is  more  service  "  was  a  favorite  saying 
of  Mr.  Moody's,  and,  indeed,  it  perfectly  indicated  his  life- 
work.  One  day,  soon  after  returning  to  his  native  town, 
he  was  driving  with  his  brother,  Samuel  Moody,  over  one  of  the 
mountainous  roads  near  Northfield,  when  they  passed  a  lonely  cot- 
tage, far  distant  from  any  town  or  neighbor.  Sitting  in  the  doorway 
were  the  mother  and  two  daughters,  occupied  in  braiding  straw  hats. 
The  father  was  paralytic,  and  could  do  nothing  for  the  support  of  the 
family;  thus  the  burden  rested  on  the  women.  But  though  the  father 
was  physically  helpless,  he  was  an  educated  man,  and  his  daughters 
had  an  ambition  that  reached  beyond  their  present  narrow  horizon. 

The  limitations  of  their  condition  and  the  apparent  hopelessness  of 
their  future  deeply  impressed  Mr.  Moody.  The  sight  of  those  women 
braiding  hats  in  that  lonely,  out-of-the-way  place  resulted  in  his 
determination  to  meet  the  peculiar  needs  of  just  such  girls  in  neigh- 
boring hills  and  communities. 

His  brother  Samuel  undoubtedly  added  impulse  to  this  purpose. 
Mr.  Moody  had  a  peculiar  love  for  this  brother,  who  was  the  youngest 
in  the  family.  He  was  not  strong  physically,  and  his  interests  were 
necessarily  limited.  He  read  law  for  a  time,  and  gave  promise  of  mak- 
ing a  good  attorney.  Like  his  older  brother,  he  was  fond  of  young 
people,  and  was  instrumental  in  starting  a  debating  society  in  North- 
field.  He  constantly  regretted  the  limited  opportunities  the  local 
schools  afforded  his  twin  sister  for  her  mental  betterment,  and  often 
expressed  the  wish  that  something  more  advanced  might  be  available. 


320  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

In  1876  Samuel  died,  but  not  before  he  had  fostered  in  his  brother's 
soul  a  yearning  to  put  such  educational  advantages  within  reach  of 
girls  living  among  the  New  England  hills  as  would  fit  them  for  a 
broader  sphere  in  life  than  they  could  otherwise  hope  for. 

Another  probable  source  of  suggestion  as  to  purpose  and  method 
was  Henry  F.  Durant,  of  Boston.  Mr.  Moody  made  this  gentleman's 
acquaintance  in  the  sixties,  and  with  him  visited  Mount  Holyoke  Sem- 
inary. During  his  Boston  campaign  in  1878  he  was  a  guest  at  Mr. 
Durant's  home.  The  latter  had  just  founded  Wellesley  College,  and 
naturally  his  daily  conversation  was  full  of  his  plans.  Mr.  Moody  was 
taken  to  visit  the  college  several  times,  and  became  a  trustee. 

Mr.  Durant's  aim  for  Wellesley  was  to  have  a  college  founded  on 
the  Bible,  and  to  give  advanced  education,  while  always  giving  Christ 
and  the  Bible  preeminence.  Recognizing  the  benefit  of  industrial 
duties,  as  well  as  of  intellectual  training,  he  insisted  on  the  students 
sharing  in  the  domestic  work  of  the  institution.  Mr.  Moody  saw  this 
plan  in  operation,  and  at  once  adopted  it  in  starting  the  Northfield 
Seminary. 

The  purchase  of  a  school  site  was  characteristic  of  Mr.  Moody. 
One  day  in  the  fall  of  1878  he  stood  discussing  the  project  with  Mr. 
H.  N.  F.  Marshall,  of  Boston,  when  the  owner  of  sixteen  acres  of  ad- 
joining land  passed  them.  They  asked  him  if  he  would  sell,  and  learn- 
ing his  price,  invited  him  into  the  house,  made  out  the  papers,  and 
before  the  owner  had  recovered  from  his  surprise  the  land  had  passed 
out  of  his  hands.  Three  or  four  adjoining  lots  were  bought  out  in  the 
course  of  a  year,  all  without  their  respective  owners  realizing  that  their 
barren  farm-lands  had  any  special  value.  These  purchases  increased 
the  estate  to  one  hundred  acres,  the  greater  part  being  bare,  sandy  hil- 
locks, useless  even  for  pasturage,  but  suitably  located,  and  command- 
ing a  pleasing  view  of  the  Connecticut  Valley. 

In  the  spring  of  1879  the  erection  of  a  recitation  hall  intended  for 
one  hundred  students  was  begun.  With  characteristic  promptness  and 
energy,  Mr.  Moody  could  not  wait  for  a  dormitory  to  be  built,  but 


Northfield  Seminary  321 

altered  his  own  house  to  accommodate  the  students.  Instead  of  the 
eight  pupils  as  expected,  twenty-five  appeared.  With  these,  the 
Northfield  Seminary  for  Young  Women  was  formally  opened  on 
November  3,  1879,  classes  being  held  in  the  dining-room  of  Mr. 
Moody's  home  until  the  recitation  hall  was  completed  the  following 
December. 

The  two  girls  he  had  seen  in  the  mountain  home  were  among  the 
first  students.  So  intelligent  were  they  that  they  soon  justified  Mr. 
Moody's  efforts  in  their  behalf. 

Ground  was  broken  for  the  first  dormitory,  East  Hall,  in  April,  1880. 
It  wras  completed  the  following  August,  and  was  used  to  accommo- 
date those  who  attended  the  first  Christian  Workers'  Conference 
during  the  first  ten  days  in  September.  On  the  last  day  of  this 
conference,  at  the  close  of  one  of  the  morning  meetings,  Mr.  Moody 
invited  those  present  into  the  chapel  of  East  Hall  for  the  purpose  of 
dedicating  the  building.  After  singing  one  or  two  hymns,  Mr. 
Moody  spoke  as  follows: 

"  You  know  that  the  Lord  laid  it  upon  my  heart  some  time  ago  to 
organize  a  school  for  young  women  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  who 
never  would  get  a  Christian  education  but  for  a  school  like  this.  I 
talked  about  this  plan  of  mine  to  friends,  until  a  number  of  them  gave 
money  to  start  the  school.  Some  thought  I  ought  to  make  it  for  boys 
and  girls,  but  I  thought  that  if  I  wished  to  send  my  daughter  away  to 
school  I  should  prefer  to  send  her  to  an  institution  for  girls  only.  I 
have  hoped  that  money  might  be  given  for  a  boys'  school,  and  now  a 
gentleman  who  has  been  here  for  the  last  ten  days  has  become  inter- 
ested in  my  plans,  and  has  given  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  toward  a 
school  for  boys. 

"  And  now  as  we  dedicate  this  building  to  God,  I  want  to  read  you 
the  motto  of  this  school."  Then,  turning  to  Isaiah,  xxvii.  3,  he  read : 

"  '  I  the  Lord  do  keep  it;  I  will  water  it  every  moment:  lest  any 
hurt  it,  I  will  keep  it  night  and  day.'  " 

And  it  would  seem  that  this  promise  has  been  more  than  fulfilled, 


322  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

for  during  the  twenty  years  which  have  elapsed  since  then  the  Sem- 
inary has  been  remarkably  blessed. 

In  the  cornerstone  of  each  of  the  school  buildings  proper  has  been 
placed  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures.  This  is  symbolic  of  the  place  that 
God's  Word  holds  in  the  life  of  the  schools.  It  is,  indeed,  foundation, 
cornerstone,  and  capstone  of  Mr.  Moody's  whole  system.  He  recog- 
nized that  all  studies  have  their  value,  but  believed  their  importance  is 
increased  if  pursued  in  right  relation  to  central  truths. 

The  curriculum  of  the  seminary  offers  three  courses  of  study.  The 
college  preparatory  course  enables  the  student  to  enter  any  of  the 
leading  colleges  on  certificate.  The  general  course  offers  the  same 
advantages  in  Latin,  but  affords  more  scope  in  electives.  The  English 
course,  by  omitting  the  languages,  gives  an  opportunity  for  more  ex- 
tended work  in  sciences,  history,  and  literature.  In  all  branches  the 
student  is  stimulated  to' independent  thought  and  investigation.  Great 
emphasis  is  laid  on  the  foundations  of  education ;  hence,  for  those  who 
are  unable  to  pass  a  good  examination  in  the  fundamental  branches,  a. 
preparatory  department  has  been  planned,  which  furnishes  two  full 
years  of  elementary  instruction. 

One  line  found  in  the  school  catalogue  which  attracts  much  atten- 
tion and  causes  a  great  deal  of  pondering  is  this :  "  The  students  per- 
form all  the  work  of  the  house."  To  the  uninitiated,  the  hour's  do- 
mestic \vork  to  which  she  is  immediately  introduced  sometimes  seems 
appalling;  but  whether  or  not  the  task  is  to  mean  drudgery  depends 
almost  entirely  upon  the  attitude  of  the  student  and  the  spirit  in 
which  the  work  is  done.  Merry  hours  are  often  spent  in  the  kitchen 
with  congenial  companions  in  the  cheerful  performance  of  duties  which 
are  not  always  considered  the  most  pleasant.  A  girl's  experience  in 
domestic  science  is  widened,  especially  if  the  work  falling  to  her  lot  be 
varied — if,  in  other  words,  she  is  a  "  miscellaneous  girl."  The  schedule 
of  domestic  work  is  arranged  largely  with  reference  to  the  individual's 
convenience  and  capabilities,  and  so  as  not  to  conflict  with  study  and 
recreation  hours. 


Northfield  Seminary  323 

It  is  not  the  idea  of  the  Seminary  to  pay  exclusive  attention  to  the 
training  of  the  mind  and  soul,  but  rather  to  develop  a  symmetrical 
womanhood.  At  least  half  an  hour  of  outdoor  exercise  must  be  taken 
daily  by  all,  the  beautiful  and  extensive  campus  offering  rare  incentives 
for  the  fulfilment  of  this  pleasant  task.  The  finely  equipped  gym- 
nasium is  a  much-frequented  spot.  Basket-ball  and  tennis  are  favorite 
sports,  impetus  being  given  to  games  by  friendly  rivalry  between  the 
halls  and  by  challenges  between  the  different  classes.  Wanamaker 
Lake,  a  picturesque  sheet  of  water,  often  witnesses  gay  groups  of 
skaters  in  the  winter  months,  and  on  beautiful  afternoons  in  June  and 
September  is  the  scene  of  merry  boating  parties.  Long  walks  and 
climbs  about  the  surrounding  country  are  other  enjoyable  forms  of 
recreation. 

There  are  also  lectures,  concerts,  and  various  sorts  of  entertainments 
which  help  to  brighten  the  winter  evenings  and  to  develop  the  social 
life  of  the  school.  Receptions  and  class  entertainments  are  other 
pleasant  features.  Often  on  festive  occasions  the  unique  social  even- 
ings in  the  different  halls  blend  brightness  with  routine  and  draw 
friends  more  closely  together.  The  Current  Events  Club  aims  to  keep 
..its  members  informed  in  regard  to  living  history  as  it  is  being  enacted 
and  recorded  from  week  to  week.  The  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  has  in  charge  the  various  departments  of  Christian  activ- 
ity, and  keeps  students  in  sympathy  with  the  larger  movements  to 
make  the  world  better. 

Last  June  (1899),  in  a  memorable  reunion,  the  twentieth  anniversary 
of  the  Seminary  was  celebrated.  Words  of  love  and  gratitude  reached 
the  founder's  ears  on  every  side.  Well  might  he  rejoice  in  its  almost 
incredible  growth,  from  a  modest  beginning  twenty  years  ago, 
to  the  present  enrollment  of  nearly  four  hundred  students,  with  a  staff 
of  teachers  and  matrons  numbering  thirty-nine.  The  school  property 
now  embraces  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  nine  dormitories,  a  gym- 
nasium, a  library,  a  recitation  hall,  an  auditorium,  and  farm  buildings. 
The  effects  of  a  Northfield  training  are  lasting,  as  hundreds  of  former 


324  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

students  testify.  Many  who  came  to  obtain  enough  education  merely 
to  get  along  better  in  life,  or  to  fit  themselves  for  some  lower  sphere, 
have  had  their  whole  course  and  purpose  changed.  Instead  of  leaving 
the  Seminary  the  irritable,  self-centred  girls  that  entered,  they  have 
gone  out  consecrated,  self-sacrificing  Christians,  who  have  found  the 
joy  and  happiness  that  come  in  the  service  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
MOUNT  HERMON  SCHOOLS 

NO  sooner  was  the  Seminary  under  way  than  a  corresponding 
school  for  boys  suggested  itself.  Mount  Hermon  School  for 
Young  Men  was  therefore  started  on  similar  principles.  The 
first  purchase  of  property  was  made  in  November,  1879,  when  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  was  secured  by  Mr.  Moody. 
When,  a  little  later,  Mr.  Hiram  Camp,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  agreed 
to  contribute  $25,000,  some  adjoining  land  was  bought,  and  the  school 
started  with  an  estate  of  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  and 
two  farmhouses.  At  Mr.  Camp's  suggestion  the  name  Mount  Her- 
mon was  adopted,  "for  there  the  Lord  commanded  the  blessing,  even 
life  for  evermore."  (Psalm  cxxxiii.  3.) 

The  first  boys  arrived  at  the  school  on  May  4,  1881.  At  that  time 
the  ages  varied  from  eight  to  twelve  years,  Mr.  Moody's  aim  being 
to  give  them  home  life  and  help,  of  which  they  knew  little,  but  be- 
fore long  a  change  in  this  direction  was  adopted.  Applications  be- 
gan to  pour  in  from  young  men  whose  early  education  had  for  various 
reasons  been  meagre.  Three  years  later,  believing  that  younger  boys 
had  more  opportunities  to  secure  schooling  elsewhere  than  the  older 
class  of  applicants,  and  realizing  that  too  wide  a  range  in  age  would 
not  be  feasible  from  the  view-point  of  discipline,  the  age  limit  was 
raised,  and  it  was  decided  to  accept  no  applicants  under  the  age  of 
sixteen. 

Mr.  Moody  had  not  mere  charity  in  view ;  hence  his  schools  do  not 
offer  their  privileges  gratuitously.  But  he  knew  that  raw  material 
19 


328  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

of  the  most  promising  kind  is  often  to  be  found  among  people  of  little 
or  no  educational  attainments,  who  cannot  afford  the  usual  expense  of 
academy  life,  and  in  order  to  open  the  doors  to  such,  the  annual  fee  of 
the  Northfield  schools  was  fixed  at  $100  a  year,  or  about  half  the  cost 
of  board  and  tuition.  In  other  words,  Mr.  Moody  proposed  to  give 
tuition  and  training  free  to  such  as  would  provide  their  own  living 
expenses. 

The  system  of  manual  labor  common  to  all  Mr.  Moody's  institu- 
tions is  best  developed  at  Mount  Hermon.  Here  there  is  no  aris- 
tocracy. Every  student,  big  or  little,  senior  or  preparatorian,  must 
do  a  certain  amount  of  manual  labor  every  day,  the  work  being 
adapted  to  his  physical  ability,  but  entirely  regardless  of  any  social 
standing.  This,  alone,  is  enough  to  keep  away  that  class  of  young 
men  who  go  to  school  for  fun  and  not  for  work,  and  the  proportion  of 
those  who  have  already  formed  a  strong  purpose  in  life,  and  who  really 
"  mean  business,"  is  correspondingly  large.  Each  student  is  marked 
according  to  his  faithfulness  and  efficiency  in  this  department.  Thus 
a  basis  for  the  estimation  of  character  is  afforded,  which  Mr.  Moody 
ajid  the  teachers  have  regarded  as  valuable  as  that  of  the  class- 
room. 

That  there  is  little  chance  for  loafers  may  be  judged  from  a  glance 
at  a  sample  of  the  daily  programme,  which  is  tolled  out  by  bells,  that 
remind  the  students  of  the  remorseless  flight  of  time  and  opportunity : 

6.00  A.M.     Rising  bell  rings. 

6.15  A.M.    The  officer  of  the  floor  (a  student)  makes  a  tour  of  the  rooms  to  make 
sure  that  no  one  has  forgotten  to  get  up. 

6.30-6.50  A.M.     "  Silent  time  "  for  private  devotions. 

7.00  A.M.     Breakfast,  after  which  beds  are  made,  rooms  cleaned,  etc. 

7.40-11.50  A.M.     Study  and  recitation  periods. 
11.55  A-M-     Chapel  exercises,  lasting  about  half  an  hour. 
12.30  P.M.     Dinner. 

1.20-3.20  P.M.     Work-time. 

3.20-4.30  P.M.     Study,  or  other  school  duties. 

4.30-6.00  P.M.     Recreation. 

6.00  P.M.     Supper  ;  evening  devotions  being  held  just  before  the  meal, 


Mount  Hermon  Schools  329 

7.00-9.30  P.M.     Study  hours. 
9.30-10.00  P.M.     Evening  "  silent  time." 
10.00  P.M.     Lights  out,  and  inspection  by  the  floor  officer. 

The  school  remains  in  continuous  session,  the  calendar  year  be- 
ing divided  into  three  terms  of  four  months  each.  Under  this  sys- 
tem the  school  plant  is  in  use  in  the  summer,  when  expenses  are  at  a 
minimum. 

The  regular  intellectual  routine  of  school  work  is  adapted  in  an 
extraordinary  degree  to  the  individual  needs  of  the  pupil.  Some 
who  have  had  early  advantages  prepare  for  college,  or  take  a  thor- 
ough course  in  English  branches,  adding  in  each  case  a  course  in 
Bible  study.  Other  men,  well  on  in  years,  who  have  been  deprived 
of  early  advantages,  and  have  a  larger  knowledge  of  life  and  wider 
acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures,  struggle  with  the  multiplication 
table,  and  knit  their  brows  over  the  grammatical  structure  of  simple 
sentences. 

The  preparatory  course  provides  instruction  in  the  elementary 
branches.  The  classical  course  of  four  years  gives  adequate  prep- 
aration for  admission  to  any  college,  and  the  school  certificate  ad- 
mits, without  examination,  to  many  well-known  colleges.  The  sci- 
entific course  affords  preparation  for  the  best  schools  of  technology, 
or  secures  a  good  practical  education  for  those  who  go  to  no  higher 
institution.  An  elective  course  is  offered  to  those  whose  circum- 
stances demand  more  freedom  in  the  choice  of  studies  than  the  other 
courses  allow. 

Three  societies  have  been  organized  for  the  purpose  of  debating 
and  other  literary  work.  Friendly  rivalry  runs  high  between  these 
societies  in  the  contests  for  the  numerous  prizes  offered  by  the  school. 

Great  importance  is  attached  to  the  spiritual  discipline  of  the 
students,  and  in  this  the  home  life  in  the  various  dormitories  is  a 
most  important  factor.  Intercourse  with  others  teaches  them  to  live 
peaceably  and  unselfishly.  Angularities  of  character  are  smoothed 
and  softened,  and  lessons  in  forbearance  and  patience  are  daily 


330  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

learned — lessons  not  noted  in  the  catalogues,  but  as  important  as 
mental  culture  in  the  preparation  for  a  useful  career. 

At  Northfield  and  Mount  Hermon  "chapel"  and  "  silent  time  "  are 
part  of  the  day's  programme.  Mr.  Moody  often  said  that  no  infidel 
had  any  right  to  partake  of  the  advantages  of  the  school,  knowing 
that  its  declared  purpose  is  Christian.  Though  many  who  are  not 
Christians  are  accepted  as  students,  a  sincere  effort  is  made  to  lead 
them  all  to  Christ,  and  a  very  small  percentage  leaves  unconverted. 
But  forcing  in  this  matter  is  never  allowed. 

One  immediate  result  of  this  home  life  is  a  happy,  contented  feel- 
ing among  the  students.  Visitors  are  constantly  impressed  with  the 
evident  unity  and  cheerfulness  of  the  school. 

The  Mount  Hermon  Church  directs  the  Christian  activities  of 
the  students.  This  church  is  homed  in  Memorial  Chapel,  the  last 
building  added  to  the  school  plant  before  Mr.  Moody's  decease.  The 
chapel  is  built  upon  a  prominence  that  he  playfully  called  "  Tempta- 
tion Hill,"  hinting  that  some  friend  might  be  tempted  to  give  the 
money  necessary  to  erect  a  chapel.  But  as  the  hint  had  not  been 
taken,  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  birthday  (1897)  was  made  the 
occasion  of  an  effort  to  provide  this  much-needed  building,  which,  it 
was  presumed,  would  give  him  as  much  happiness  as  any  present  made 
to  him  personally.  Accordingly  the  funds  necessary  were  raised  in 
England  and  America  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  friends  who 
wished  to  share  in  this  tribute  of  love  and  gratitude.  Rev.  F.  B. 
Meyer,  of  London,  and  H.  M.  Moore,  of  Boston,  were  responsible  for 
this  suggestion  and  its  consummation. 

This  commodious  chapel  has  seating  capacity  for  one  thousand. 
Although  built  expressly  as  a  memorial  of  Mr.  Moody's  sixtieth  birth- 
day, he  would  not  allow  this  fact  to  be  mentioned  on  the  bronze  tablet 
in  the  vestibule,  which  reads  as  follows : 

"  This  chapel  was  erected  by  the  united  contributions  of  Christian 
friends  in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  to  be  a  perpetual  witness  to  their  unity  in  the  service  of  Christ. " 


OVERTOUN  HAIL,  MOUNT  HER.MON. 


MOUNT  HERMON  BUILDINGS. 


MOUNT  HHR.MON  CHAPI 


THE  OLD  MOUNT  HERMON  FERRY  ACROSS  THE  CONNECTICUT. 


Mount  Hermon  Schools  333 

In  both  these  Northfield  schools  the  end  in  view  has  been  to  impart 
knowledge,  not  so  much  as  an  accomplishment,  but  as  a  means  of 
making  men  and  women  more  serviceable  to  society.  While  the 
common  and  even  the  advanced  courses  of  academic  work  have  all 
received  thorough  recognition,  it  is  the  Bible  that  takes  preeminence 
as  the  real  source  of  spiritual  education.  Every  course  includes  Bible 
training,  and  in  both  the  Northfield  Seminary  for  Young  Women  and 
the  Mount  Hermon  School  for  Young  Men  each  of  the  eight  hundred 
students  receives  Bible  instruction  twice  a  week. 

In  the  twenty  years  that  have  elapsed  since  these  two  schools  were 
first  established  nearly  six  thousand  students  have  felt  the  influence 
of  the  work,  and  hundreds  have  given  their  time  and  talent  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  Gospel  they  heard  at  Northfield.  Others  have 
entered  various  occupations,  where  their  quiet  influence  is  doubtless 
felt  at  home  or  in  business. 

Rev.  Alexander  McGaffin,  of  Brooklyn,  a  former  student  in  the 
school,  thus  writes  of  the  spirit  of  the  place,  which  he  terms  hermon- 
ology  : 

"  I  went  to  Mount  Hermon  as  a  mere  boy  without  any  particular 
aim  in  life  or  any  serious  religious  convictions.  There  I  came  upon  a 
species  of  Christianity  altogether  new  to  me,  and  an  educational 
training  tempered  by  an  earnest  religious  spirit.  One  did  not  study 
merely  for  learning's  sake,  nor  was  one  religious  merely  for  religion's 
sake.  A  great  purpose  was  constantly  held  up,  towards  which  we 
boy  learners  were  to  struggle,  and  pure  motives  were  inculcated  as 
the  ever  present  power  of  our  lives. 

"  We  were  taught  that  the  present  was  the  means  and  the  future 
the  end;  that  in  that  future  dwelt  God  and  humanity,  and  that  our 
work  would  have  to  do  with  them. 

"  The  great  need  of  the  Eternal  One  was  the  cry  of  His  heart  for 
the  world ;  and  the  great  need  of  man  was  his  undefined  longing  for 
God. 

"  The  italicised  words  in  the  vocabulary  of  God,  we  were  taught,  are 


334  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

'  the  world  '  and  '  redemption.'  There  is  a  divine  voice,  they  told  us 
at  Mount  Hermon,  a  divine  voice  speaking,  in  divine  language  from 
Heaven,  a  message  to  man,  and  a  human  voice  speaking  in  human 
language,  disconnected  and  wandering,  uttering  incoherent  cries,  the 
cravings  of  the  soul. 

"  We  were  to  be  mediators  who  could  hear  the  voice  from  Heaven, 
could  understand  the  divine  language,  and  could  repeat  the  message 
over  again  in  words  that  man  might  catch,  in  tones  that  would  reach 
his  heart. 

"  This  was  to  be  the  practical  religion  and  constant  duty  of  every 
one  of  us,  whatever  our  avocation  in  the  world.  We  might  not  all 
preach  in  the  '  regular  way,'  but  we  could  preach  in  the  '  irregular 
way,'  as  Mr.  Moody  said.  We  could  learn  to  understand  the  two 
languages  and  be  interpreters  thereof  to  men.  This  is  a  sublime 
mission  in  the  world,  and  one  which  was  constantly  presented  to  us  at 
Mount  Hermon.  All  our  training,  educational  and  religious,  was  in- 
tended to  fit  us  for  this  work. 

"  Our  religious  life,  as  I  look  back  upon  it  now,  seems  to  me  to 
have  approached  in  its  spirit  and  activity  nearer  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment type  than  any  I  have  since  seen.  In  the  various  spheres  in 
which  we  move  one  does  not  often  have  the  privilege  of  witnessing 
such  a  combined  and  consistent  exhibition  of  this  kind  of  Christianity 
as  could  be  seen  at  Mount  Hermon.  After  years  of  absence  and  fur- 
ther training,  one's  heart  often  turns  back  to  those  days  of  smaller 
knowledge  and  higher  living.  Indeed,  it  was  easy  to  be  a  Christian 
at  Mount  Hermon,  and  though  the  life  there  had  its  own  temptations, 
yet,  for  some  of  us,  the  struggle  for  existence  has  come  later,  and  no 
surer  anchor  did  we  find  than  the  truths  and  convictions  which  em- 
bedded themselves  in  our  hearts  during  those  earnest  years. 

"  It  was  no  mean  training  in  itself,  apart  from  the  daily  instruc- 
tion and  practice,  which  we  received  by  meeting  the  eminent  leaders 
of  religious  thought  and  activity  who  so  frequently  visited  the  school 
and  addressed  the  students.  It  gave  us  insight  such  as  no  reading  of 


Mount  Hermon  Schools  335 

books  or  personal  effort  could  possibly  have  given  us  in  the  same 
time  or  with  greater  power.  As  experience  has  come  to  us  in  these 
after  years  the  counsel  of  those  days  has  remained  as  the  touchstone 
of  good  and  evil,  and  without  it  we  might  easily  have  erred. 

"  Indeed,  I  cannot  see  how  any  one  who  had  spent  from  two  to  four 
years  at  Mount  Hermon  as  a  sincere  seeker  after  religious  truth  could 
ever  be  permanently  diverted  from  the  lines  of  evangelical  and  aggres- 
sive Christianity.  Though  such  an  one  may  temporarily  be  so  blinded 
as  to  lose  the  proportion  of  things,  when  thinking  out  for  himself  the 
earlier  beliefs  of  his  boyhood,  yet  I  believe  and  know  that,  sooner  or 
later,  he  will  turn  again  to  the  living  truths  taught  and  testified  to  at 
Mount  Hermon,  as  a  man,  staggered  and  made  cynical  by  the  mystery 
of  life,  turns  again  to  the  love  of  his  mother.  I  know  that  what  I  say 
has  been  true  of  some,  and  that  others,  just  as  candid  and  thorough  in 
their  dealings  with  '  science  falsely  so  called,'  find  themselves  still 
walking  in  the  old  pathway,  the  shadows  dispelled  and  the  light  shin- 
ing brighter  and  brighter  still. 

"Of  the  men  whom  I  know  to  be  in  darkness  and  doubt  to-day  the 
majority  of  them  are  those  who  never  have  been  rightly  instructed, 
or  who  have  never  seen  the  religion  of  Jesus  rightly  lived.  No  one 
can  have  been  a  student  at  Mount  Hermon  and  have  missed  either. 
I  speak  feelingly  and  I  speak  with  knowledge.  Mount  Hermon  was 
the  gateway  of  Heaven  for  me,  and  never  did  it  let  go  its  grip  until  I 
was  able  to  stand  upon  my  own  feet  and  fight  my  own  religious  bat- 
tles. It  helped  me  to  cherish  every  lofty  desire.  It  inspired  me  with 
courage  against  every  evil  tendency.  It  placed  before  me  a  holy  am- 
bition, and  when  it  launched  my  little  craft  out  into  deep  water,  there 
were  a  compass  and  pilot  aboard — and  I  have  not  yet  run  aground. 

"  I  have  said  nothing  thus  far  of  the  educational  value  of  Mount 
Hermon.  It  is  certainly  unique.  After  seven  years'  study  since  leav- 
ing the  school,  I  can  sincerely  say  that  the  best  teacher  I  have  ever 
had  was  she  with  whom  I  began  my  studies  in  Greek.  For  thorough- 
ness, painstaking  care,  and  inspiration,  I  have  never  met  her  equal, 


336  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Her  teaching,  like  that  of  all  the  others,  was  characterized  by  an 
earnestness  of  purpose  and  purity  of  motive  which  I  have  seen  in  only 
a  few  instances  since. 

"  Teaching  was  regarded  at  Mount  Hermon  as  a  sacred  privilege, 
and  was  pursued  in  that  spirit  which  marks  sincere  religious  service. 
It  is  my  own  opinion  that  more  good  students  are  made  at  Mount 
Hermon  than  at  most  institutions  of  secondary  education.  It  was  not 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  those  who  knew  the  school,  though  it  was 
astonishing  to  some  who  did  not  know  it,  that  two  of  its  graduates 
were  the  only  members  of  a  freshman  class  in  one  of  the  three  great 
colleges  of  the  East  who  were  first  honor  men  in  every  subject. 
Nor  does  it  seem  strange  that  three  other  students  had  imbibed  at 
Mount  Hermon  such  a  love  for  learning  that  during  the  greater  part 
of  their  college  career  they  lived  on  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  or  less 
each  per  week,  cooking  their  own  food  in  an  attic  room.  One  of 
them  declined  in  bodily  vigor.  I  saw  the  change ;  but  lately  he  en- 
tered a  Western  theological  school,  the  winner  of  a  Hebrew  prize  and 
a  victor  over  circumstances. 

"  Two  of  our  men  from  the  same  class  at  Hermon  have  been  vale- 
dictorians of  their  respective  classes  at  college,  while  a  third  was  the 
holder  of  the  historical  fellowship  at  another  university.  These  are 
a  few  instances  of  winning  work  of  which  I  have  personal  knowledge; 
there  are  many  others  in  and  out  of  college  of  which  I  am  ignorant. 

"  If  I  were  beginning  my  education  again  and,  in  view  of  what  I 
now  know  of  preparatory  institutions,  had  to  choose  a  school,  I  would 
select  Mount  Hermon. 

"  There  is  one  other  characteristic  of  the  school  which  must  not 
be  forgotten.  It  is  what  might  be  called  the  man-making  quality. 
This  is  an  indefinable  something  distinct  from  the  religious  and  edu- 
cational training.  There  is  a  sturdiness  cultivated  there  which  one 
feels  every  day,  and  which  soon  works  itself  into  the  fibre  of  every 
student  who  enters  into  the  spirit  of  the  place.  There  is  a  democratic 
independence  rampant  which  is  bound  to  affect  the  most  indolent. 


Mount  Hermon  Schools  337 

The  school  is  not  for  rich  men's  sons.  They  have  no  right  there. 
There  can  be  no  aristocracy  of  wealth.  Every  student  knows  that  he 
must  carve  out  his  own  future,  and  that  the  'other  fellow'  is  doing  the 
same.  This  produces  a  feeling  of  brotherhood  which  tones  down  and 
Christianizes  the  '  struggle  for  life.'  The  only  dependence  recog- 
nized is  interdependence.  The  only  qualities  which  give  leadership 
are  goodness,  grit,  and  skill.  Words  do  not  count,  but  accomplish- 
ment. The  Past  has  perished,  the  Present  is  all-important. 

"  Thus  would  I  indicate  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  manliness  of 
the  life  at  Hermon;  the  spirit  that  asks  only  for  a  fair  chance  and  no 
odds,  believing  that  he  who  does  right  will  do  well. 

"  The  four  years  spent  at  Mount  Hermon  were  very  happy  years, 
the  most  critical  and  formative  of  my  life  as  I  have  since  learned. 
For  what  they  mean  to  me  nothing  that  I  can  now  imagine  could 
compensate,  and  if  life  were  to  be  lived  over  again  I  would  not  like 
to  have  those  four  years  left  out. " 


CHAPTER    XXX 
THE  BIBLE  INSTITUTE  FOR  HOME  AND   FOREIGN   MISSIONS 

A  LETTER  is  on  file  at  the  women's  department  of  the  Institute 
that  intimates  Mr.  Moody's  thought  regarding  this  school : 

"  EAST  NORTHFIELD,  MASS., 

"  December  16,  1895. 
"  MY  DEAR  Miss  STRONG: 

"  I  want  to  get  my  two  granddaughters  into  the  women's  depart- 
ment the  first  of  the  year  1916.  They  will  be  about  the  same  age,  and 
I  would  be  glad  to  have  them  room  together.  I  want  them  to  un- 
derstand how  to  visit  from  house  to  house.  You  might  have  their 
names  put  down,  so  that  if  the  building  is  full  at  the  commencement 
of  the  fall  term  they  will  not  be  crowded  out.  Their  names  are  Irene 
Moody,  born  at  Mount  Hermon,  August  22,  1895,  and  Emma  Moody 
Fitt,  born  at  East  Northfield,  December  i6th. 

"  It  is  my  wish  that  when  they  have  gotten  through  the  Northfield 
Seminary  they  spend  two  years  at  the  Bible  Institute ;  and  as  I  have 
taken  some  interest  in  the  society,  I  hope  you  will  give  my  application 
a  favorable  consideration.  I  do  not  ask  for  a  free  scholarship.  I 
only  want  to  make  sure  to  get  them  in.  I  should  like  to  have  them 
do  some  housework.  I  find  it  is  so  much  better  for  young  ladies  to 
care  for  a  house,  so  if  they  ever  have  one  of  their  own  they  will  know 
how  to  look  after  it. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  P.  L.  MOODY." 


The  Bible  Institute  for  Home  and  Foreign  Missions     339 

"  I  believe  we  have  got  to  have  "gap-men  '—men  who  are  trained 
to  stand  between  the  laity  and  the  ministers,"  was  a  common  expres- 
sion of  Mr.  Moody's.  He  felt  the  great  need  for  more  lay  Christian 
workers.  On  the  one  hand  he  found  many  consecrated  men  and 
women  ready  and  anxious  to  do  God's  will,  and  on  the  other  hand 
he  saw  that  there  was  plenty  of  opportunity  for  them  to  go  to  work  if 
they  only  had  the  necessary  skill  and  training.  His  effort  was  to  solve 
this  problem,  and  he  made  urgent  appeals  for  funds  wherewith  to 
open  a  training  school.  Responses  to  this  appeal  came  heartily,  the 
money  was  pledged,  the  preliminary  steps  were  taken,  and  the  new 
enterprise  was  chartered  under  the  name  of  "  The  Chicago  Evan- 
gelization Society." 

On  December  31,  1886,  Mr.  Moody  began  a  four-months'  cam- 
paign of  evangelistic  services  in  Chicago,  going  from  one  church  to 
another,  and  utilizing  the  great  roller-skating  rinks.  Every  noon 
a  large  meeting  was  held  in  old  Farwell  Hall,  the  audience-room  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building,  which  had  been  the1 
scene  of  many  former  experiences  in  Mr.  Moody's  life.  Each  Mon- 
day noon  reports  were  heard  from  the  various  churches  and  missions. 

During  these  four  months,  plans  for  the  "  Training  School,"  as  it 
was  then  called,  were  being  brought  into  shape,  but  unexpected  hin- 
drances appeared.  At  the  last  noon  meeting  of  his  stay  Mr.  Moody 
asked : 

"  How  shall  this  work  be  carried  on  when  I  am  gone?  "  and  some 
one  called  out : 

"Get  a  tent." 

"  All  right,"  said  Mr.  Moody;  "  I'll  give  the  first  hundred  dollars. 
Who  next  ?  "  Money  was  at  once  raised  for  the  object,  and  a  gospel 
tent,  eighty  feet  in  diameter,  was  secured  and  pitched  in  a  district  so 
wicked  that  it  was  known  as  "  Little  Hell."  The  tent  was  manned 
by  an  evangelist  with  a  corps  of  assistants,  Bibles  in  hand.  After  a 
few  weeks  the  tent  was  moved  elsewhere ;  and  so,  summer  and  win- 
ter, the  meetings  went  on,  the  winter  services  being  held  in  churches, 


340  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

missions,  and  theatres,  and  the  summer  meetings  in  the  tent;  the 
barroom  of  a  small  theatre  was  once  used  as  an  inquiry-room,  with 
beer  kegs  for  seats.  Multitudes  were  brought  to  Christ  from  the 
lowest  strata  of  society,  and  thus  was  found  one  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem :  "  How  shall  we  reach  the  masses  ?  " 

Training  was  given  the  workers  in  a  series  of  brief  "  Bible 
Institutes,"  when  excellent  Bible  teachers  expounded  the  Scrip- 
tures and  gave  practical  methods  of  Christian  work.  In  May, 
1889,  the  "  Institute  "  was  held  in  the  Chicago  Avenue  Church, 
and  Mr.  Moody  found  nearly  two  hundred  persons  present  where 
he  had  looked  for  twenty.  As  a  result  of  that  conference  the 
Chicago  Bible  Institute  was  formed,  and  formally  opened  in  the  fall 
of  that  year. 

Land  and  buildings  adjoining  the  Chicago  Avenue  Church  were 
purchased  at  an  outlay  of  $55,000.  The  three  dwellings  on  La  Salle 
Avenue,  included  in  the  original  purchase,  were  fitted  up  for  the  home 
of  the  women's  department,  to  which  three  others,  costing  $36,500, 
have  since  been  added.  On  Institute  Place  $50,000  was  expended  in 
the  erection  of  a  three-story  brick  building,  one  hundred  by  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  in  dimensions,  built  about  a  hollow  square 
having  the  rare  advantage,  in  the  heart  of  a  closely  built  region,  of 
light  and  air  on  all  sides.  Two  more  stories  were  added,  just  before 
the  World's  Fair,  at  an  additional  cost  of  $15,000.  This  building 
contains  the  necessary  class-rooms,  offices,  and  dormitories  for  two 
hundred  men,  with  dining-hall,  kitchen,  and  laundry.  Over  $20,000 
was  spent  in  furnishing  the  various  departments. 

The  Institute  was  formally  opened  with  a  week's  conference,  be- 
ginning September  26,  1889.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Torrey,  superintendent 
of  the  Congregational  City  Missionary  Society  of  Minneapolis,  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College  and  Seminary,  and  who  had  also  studied  at 
the  universities  of  Leipsic  and  Erlangen,  was  called  to  the  position 
of  superintendent. 

Students  have  come  to  the  Institute  from  all  quarters,  till,  to-day, 


BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO  :  MEN'S  DEPARTMENT. 


PORTION  OF  LADIES'  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 

(Showing  south  section  only.) 


The  Bible  Institute  for  Home  and  Foreign  Missions     343 

there  is  not  a  race,  and  but  few  nations,  which  are  not  represented 
on  its  register.  The  system  embraces  a  thorough  doctrinal,  analyti- 
cal, and  book  study  of  the  English  Bible  under  the  tuition  of  resident 
instructors.  Added  to  this,  lectures  are  given  by  the  best  Bible 
teachers  from  both  sides  of  the  water  on  topics  to  which  they  have 
individually  given  the  closest  attention.  While  spiritual  exposition  is 
emphasized,  all  is  based  upon  the  most  careful  and  scholarly  study  of 
the  Word.  Two  years  of  twelve  months  each  are  required  for  the 
course,  but,  as  it  proceeds  in  a  circle,  students  can  enter  at  any  time 
and  by  remaining  two  years  complete  the  full  course. 

Mr.  Moody  always  recognized  the  power  of  gospel  song,  and  no 
education  for  Christian  service  would  be  complete  in  his  eyes  without 
it.  Hence  a  musical  department  was  a  necessity.  Those  gifted  in 
that  direction  receive  careful  training  in  the  art  of  singing  the  Gos- 
pel, a  branch  of  vocal  culture  to  which  special  attention  is  not  usually 
given. 

The  morning  hours  are  spent  in  the  class-room,  and  the  afternoons 
and  evenings  are  divided  between  study  and  practical  work,  among 
the  unconverted.  Rescue  mission  work,  house-to-house  visitation, 
children's  meetings,  women's  meetings,  jail  work,  inquiry-meeting 
work,  church  visitation — every  form  of  effort  which  can  be  developed 
in  the  heart  of  a  great  and  wicked  city  is  here  supplied.  For  several 
years  two  and  three  large  tents  have  been  utilized  during  the  summer,' 
and  many  street  meetings  are  held.  Wrhen  cold  weather  approaches, 
the  people  interested  are  gathered  into  cottage  meetings,  varying  in 
attendance  from  eight  to  fifty.  At  one  time  thirty-five  cottage  meet- 
ings were  being  held  every  week. 

The  result  of  the  first  decade's  work  of  the  Institute  strongly  tes- 
tifies to  its  success.  In  this  time  several  thousand  have  been  in  at- 
tendance, of  which  number  202  are  in  home,  city,  and  rescue  missions; 
1 80  in  evangelistic  work  as  preachers  and  singers;  38  in  educational 
and  philanthropic  work;  64  are  superintendents  of  city  missions;  368 
are  pastors,  pastors'  assistants,  and  church  visitors;  58  are  Sunday- 


344  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

school  missionaries;  25  are  Christian  Association  secretaries;  32  are 
colporteurs,  and  186  are  foreign  missionaries. 

The  institution  at  present  owns  land  and  buildings  which  exceed 
$300,000  in  value.  It  is  cosmopolitan  in  character,  receiving  stu- 
dents of  many  tribes  and  nations  from  beyond  our  shores,  and  send- 
ing out  men  and  women  with  the  message  of  the  Gospel  to  all  lands. 
The  Bible  Institute  has  been  called  the  "  West  Point  "  of  Christian 
work.  It  endeavors  to  embody  all  the  principles  which  characterize 
successful  Christian  workers.  Study  and  work  go  hand  in  hand. 

Mr.  Moody's  desire  to  place  deserving  students  in  training  for 
Christian  effort  both  in  Chicago  and  Northfield,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  consecrated  men  and  women  of  wealth  an  opportunity  to  share 
'in  this  work,  is  seen  from  the  following  letters  sent  to  trusted  friends 
in  New  York : 

"  MY  DEAR :  Can  or  will  you  and  your  wife  take  one  student 

each  in  our  schools  out  here  for  1891  ?  It  will  only  cost  $150  each,  and 
they  can  report  to  you  every  thirty  days  how  they  are  doing.  I  have 
found  a  good  many  who  have  gone  through  college  or  seminary, 
especially  ladies,  who  have  no  money — for  they  have  spent  all  at 
school  and  have  nothing  to  come  here;  but  $150  will  keep  them  hard 
at  work  for  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  and  they  will  do  much 
good,  and  be  learning  all  the  time.  My  wife  and  I  are  each  going  to 
take  one,  and  I  am  going  to  see  if  I  cannot  get  two  hundred  others  to 
do  the  same,  and  then  it  will  not  come  heavy  on  any  of  us. 

"  I  am  thankful  to  tell  you  that  I  have  not  found  our  church 
in  such  a  good  condition  in  fourteen  years.  God  is  using  this  society 
to  stir  up  the  city.  They  had  the  grandest  summer  that  Chicago  has 
seen  for  many  years,  and  I  am  in  hopes  of  keeping  things  moving.  I 
shall  want  to  start  in  with  the  workers  in  1891,  and  if  you  can  see  your 
way  clear  to  come  in  with  us  I  shall  be  glad." 

Under  date  of  February  24,  1890,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  relative  to 
the  work  of  the  institution  as  follows :  "  I  am  thankful  to  tell  you  that 
I  have  some  splendid  men  and  women  in  the  field.  My  school  work 


The  Bible  Institute  for  Home  and  Foreign  Missions     345 

will  not  tell  much  until  the  century  closes,  but  when  I  am  gone  I  shall 
leave  some  grand  men  and  women  behind.  I  am  thankful  to  tell  you 
I  am  gaining  all  the  time  on  the  endowment.  ...  I  hope  you 
will  give  me  the  lever.  If  you  cannot,  do  not  cut  me  off  from  your 
list  of  beggars. " 

Three  special  classes  of  students  whose  needs  the  Institute  specially 
aims  to  meet  may  be  briefly  mentioned : 

1.  Graduates  of  colleges  or  theological  seminaries  who  wish  to 
supplement  the  valuable  education  received  at  these  schools  by  a 
thorough  study  of  the  English  Bible  and  methods  of  aggressive  Chris- 
tian work. 

2.  Ministers,  evangelists,  returned  missionaries,  and  other  Chris- 
tian workers  who  have  had  actual  experience  in  the  field,  and  who 
wish  to  give  some  time  to  further  study  and  preparation  for  larger 
usefulness. 

3.  Men  and  women  who  do  not  intend  to  devote  their  entire  time 
to  gospel  work,  but  who  desire  a  larger  acquaintance  with  the  Bible 
and  methods  of  Christian  effort,  that,  while  pursuing  their  secular 
callings,  they  may  also  work  intelligently  and  successfully  in  winning 
others  to  Christ. 

A  week  before  Mr.  Moody's  health  broke  down  he  was  pointedly 
asked : 

"Do  you  consider  the  Bible  Institute  a  success?  If  you  were 
starting  over  again  would  you  follow  the  same  plan?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  he;  "  it  has  been  a  great  success  and  a  wonderful 
blessing.  I  would  do  the  same  again." 

The  preceding  winter,  when  he  was  in  Colorado,  he  wrote : 

"  It  is  cheering  to  come  out  here  and  find  our  boys  doing  so 
grandly.  It  pays  for  all  we  have  done,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  wanted 
to  do  far  more  in  the  future.  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  just  put  live 
men  into  the  work,  for  they  set  others  to  work." 

In  further  testimony  to  the  practical  nature  of  his  ideas  as  em- 
bodied in  the  Institute,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  institutions  on 


346  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

precisely  similar  lines  have  sprung  up  in  various  parts  of  the  land. 
Toronto,  Canada,  and  Glasgow,  Scotland,  sent  representatives  to  Chi- 
cago to  study  the  institution;  and  now  both  cities  have  Bible  Insti- 
tutes after  Mr.  Moody's  model.  He  lived  to  see  his  ideas  agitated 
among  prominent  educators;  for  more  study  of  the  English  Bible,  and 
systematic  practical  instruction  of  the  precise  nature  that  Mr.  Moody 
has  given  his  students  for  the  past  ten  years,  are  the  two  main  reforms 
that  President  Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  President  Harper,  and  others, 
are  seeking  to  bring  about  in  theological  seminaries. 


THE  GOSPI.I.  ox  WHEELS  :  A  BIBLE  CARRIAGE. 


PORTION  OF  LADIES'  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 

Three  other  buildings  to  the  left  do  not  appear  here. 


CHAPTER    XXXI 
AMONG  COLLEGE  STUDENTS 

WHATEVER  success  had  attended  Mr.  Moody's  missions  in 
large  cities,  and  whatever  influence  he  had  acquired  over 
thinking  men  as  individuals,  work  in  the  college  com- 
munities was  the  one  field  for  which  he  considered  himself  preemi- 
nently unfitted.  The  college  spirit  is  by  its  very  training  extremely 
critical.  Inaccuracies  of  speech  are  quickly  detected,  and  an  attitude 
of  reverence  rarely  distinguishes  the  average  student.  This  was  per- 
fectly apparent  to  Mr.  Moody,  and  for  some  time  he  avoided  and 
declined  college  invitations.  Occasionally  he  had  accepted  invita- 
tions to  Yale  or  Princeton,  and  the  results  had  been  deeply  gratify- 
ing, but  there  was  ever  present  the  feeling  that  his  mission  was  not  to 
those  whose  educational  privileges  had  been  so  much  greater  than 
his  own.  In  this  estimate  of  a  college  audience  Moody  was  doubtless 
correct,  but  he  made  one  serious  error,  owing  to  his  ignorance  of  the 
deeper  life  of  the  student  body.  Critical  it  truly  is,  but  deep  below 
the  superficial  criticism  of  the  student  is  an  appreciation  of  genuine 
sincerity  tfeat  is  equalled  by  few  audiences.  Let  college  men  be  con- 
vinced of  a  speaker's  real  worth  and  unflinching  courage,  and  he  will 
receive  a  more  sympathetic  response  than  from  most  audiences. 
This  explains  largely  the  influence  Moody  exerted  upon  the  religious 
life  of  many  institutions  of  learning,  where  the  direct  and  fearless 
deliverance  of  his  message  was  received  eagerly,  with  evident  results. 
And  if  he  won  a  cordial  response  from  the  student  body,  it  was  because 
of  the  thorough  sympathy  existing  between  audience  and  speaker; 


350  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

for,  if  the  colleges  heard  him  gladly,  Mr.  Moody  certainly  enjoyed 
addressing  young  men  more  than  any  other  class. 

The  first  important  work  among  students  began  in  Cambridge, 
England,  during  his  mission  in  Great  Britain  in  1883-84.  As  has 
already  been  stated,  Mr.  Moody  on  a  few  occasions  had  visited  some 
of  the  American  colleges — notably  Princeton  in  1876  and  Yale  in 
1878 — with  most  gratifying  results.  But  it  was  in  England  that  he 
was  truly  introduced  to  the  student  world. 

The  notable  indication  of  Mr.  Moody's  change  of  attitude  was  his 
response  to  the  petitions  of  the  students  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford 
to  visit  their  universities.  Among  those  who  were  greatly  interested 
in  this  work,  and  by  their  influence  contributed  largely  to  its  success, 
were  Mr.  J.  E.  K.  Studd  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Stone,  at  that  time  under- 
graduates. The  latter,  now  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Stone,  M.A.,  Vicar  of 
St.  Mary's,  Kilburn,  thus  describes,  in  a  recent  letter,  the  mission  to 
the  University  of  Cambridge : 

"  There  lies  before  me  a  little  book  with  this  inscription : 
'To  my  friend,  W.  H.  Stone;  D.  L.  Moody,  Cambridge,  November 
12,  1882.'  And  now,  after  seventeen  years,  that  book  seems  to  re- 
call with  wondrous  vividness  the  incidents  of  that  memorable 
week. 

"  On  returning  to  Cambridge  after  the  long  vacation,  I  was  invited 
by  J.  E.  K.  Studd  and  the  Cambridge  Christian  Union  to  join  the  sub- 
committee in  carrying  out  the  arrangements  for  a  mission  conducted 
by  Mr.  Moody  at  the  invitation  of  the  Union.  The  Corn  Exchange 
was  secured  for  the  Sunday  evening  meetings  and  the  gymnasium 
in  Market  Passage,  now  the  Conservative  Club,  for  the  week-day 
evenings.  A  large  choir  of  university  men  met  regularly  under  the 
direction  of  G.  E.  Morgan,  of  St.  John's,  to  practise  those  hymns 
which  were  likely  to  be  required.  A  committee,  including  members 
from  nearly  all  the  colleges,  handed  a  personal  invitation  to  every 
undergraduate  member  of  the  university.  The  daily  prayer-meeting 
was  well  attended  by  the  men;  all  was  now  ready,  and  on  Sunday 


Among  College  Students  351 

evening,  November  5th,  we  proceeded  to  the  first  meeting  in  the 
Corn  Exchange. 

"  The  great  building  and  annex  had  been  seated  to  hold  some 
twenty-five  hundred  persons.  On  the  platform,  in  front  of  the  choir, 
were  the  Rev.  H.  G.  S.  Moule,  John  Barton,  James  Lang,  Henry 
Trotter,  and  a  few  others.  Seventeen  hundred  men  in  cap  and  gown 
were  counted  entering  the  building.  Every  one  was  provided  with 
I  hymn-book.  In  they  came,  laughing  and  talking  and  rushing  for 
seats  near  their  friends.  Little  attention  seemed  to  be  paid  to  the 
preliminary  hymn-singing  of  the  choir.  A  firecracker  thrown  against 
the  window  caused  some  disturbance. 

"  Then  Mr.  Moody  asked  a  clergyman  on  the  platform  to  pray, 
but  men  shouted  '  Hear,  hear ! '  instead  of  Amen,  and  Mr.  Sankey's 
first  solo  was  received  with  jeers  and  loud  demands  for  an  encore. 
The  reading  of  the  Scripture  was  frequently  interrupted,  and  Mr. 
Moody's  address  was  almost  unheard  by  reason  of  the  chaffing  ques- 
tions and  noises  which  came  from  all  parts  of  the  Exchange.  Still 
the  evangelist  persevered  with  the  most  perfect  good  temper,  until 
a  lull  in  the  storm  enabled  him  for  five  minutes  to  plead  with  '  those 
who  honored  their  mothers'  God  '  to  remain  for  a  short  prayer- 
meeting.  After  the  singing  of  another  hymn,  during  which  many 
left  the  building,  some  four  hundred  remained  for  a  brief  prayer- 
meeting,  amongst  whom  many  of  the  rowdiest  men  were  seen  to  be 
quiet,  impressed,  and  apparently  ashamed  of  their  recent  behavior. 
With  heavy  hearts  we  took  our  way  to  our  respective  colleges,  but 
Mr.  Moody  seemed  undaunted  and  full  of  hope  for  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  mission. 

"  On  Monday  we  assembled  in  the  gymnasium,  and  the  sight  was 
enough  to  depress  the  spirits  of  the  most  sanguine,  for  only  a  hun- 
dred came  to  the  meeting.  After  the  address,  Mr.  Moody  spoke  to 
every  man  in  the  building.  When,  on  asking  a  man  if  he  were  a 
Christian,  he  received  the  answer, '  No,  but  I  wish  to  be  one/  we  saw 
that  the  effort  was  not  to  be  in  vain,  for  on  that  night  one  who.  was 


352  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

afterwards  to  row  in  the  Varsity  boat,  and  then  to  become  a  mission- 
ary in  Japan,  decided  to  serve  the  Lord  Christ.  A  few  more  came  on 
Tuesday  night.  On  Wednesday  a  letter  appeared  in  '  The  University 
Review/  written  by  J.  E.  K.  Studd,  reminding  the  members  of  the 
university  that  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey  had  been  invited  by  cer- 
tain undergraduates  to  conduct  the  mission,  and  that  they  were  en- 
titled to  the  treatment  usually  extended  to  invited  guests.  This 
letter  had  an  excellent  effect  throughout  Cambridge,  and  some  two 
hundred  came  to  the  evening  meeting. 

"  On  Thursday  afternoon  Mr.  Moody  gathered  a  meeting  of  some 
three  hundred  mothers  of  the  town  of  Cambridge  in  the  Alexander 
Hall  to  pray  for  university  men  as  '  Some  Mothers'  Sons.'  Mr. 
Moody  described  this  meeting  as  unique  in  his  long  experience. 
Mother  after  mother,  amidst  her  tears,  pleaded  for  the  young  men  of 
the  university. 

"  That  night  the  tide  turned.  Who  that  was  privileged  to  witness 
it  will  ever  forget  the  scene?  I  may  remind  old  Cambridge  men  that 
there  is  a  gallery  in  the  gymnasium  used  as  a  fencing-room,  and  ap- 
proached by  a  long  flight  of  steps  from  the  gymnasium  below.  The 
preacher's  subject  was  '  The  Marriage  Supper  of  the  Lamb.'  At  the 
close  of  his  address  he  asked  any  who  intended  to  be  present  at  that 
marriage  supper  to  rise  and  go  up  into  the  gallery — a  terrible  test. 
Amidst  an  awful  stillness  a  young  Trinity  man  rose,  faced  the  crowd 
of  men,  and  deliberately  ascended  the  stairs.  In  a  moment  scores 
of  men  were  on  their  feet,  following  him  to  that  upper  room.  Many 
that  night  made  the  great  decision.  Some  of  the  men  who  then  re- 
ceived the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  personal  Saviour  are  known  to 
me  to-day  as  honored  servants  of  God  in  positions  of  great  impor- 
tance. On  Friday  night  there  was  an  increased  audience,  but  no 
meeting  on  Saturday. 

"  What  would  happen  on  the  last  Sunday  night  was  the  question 
in  every  one's  mind.  Eighteen  hundred  men  assembled  in  the  Corn 
Exchange  for  the  final  service.  In  perfect  stillness  the  great  gather- 


Among  College  Students  353 

ing  listened  to  a  simple  address  on  '  The  Gospel  of  Christ.'  The  annex 
was  arranged  for  the  after-meeting,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-two 
men  gave  in  their  names  at  the  close  as  desirous  of  receiving  a  little 
book  which  might  prove  useful  to  those  who  were  seeking  to  know 
the  power  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

"  Many  men  came  to  see  Mr.  Moody  at  his  hotel,  some  to  criticise, 
some  to  apologize  for  the  unseemly  behavior  of  the  first  night,  and 
some  to  receive  that  help  he  was  so  fitted  by  God  to  give  to  those 
who  were  seeking  the  way  of  peace. 

"  The  impress  of  this  mission  still  rests  upon  the  religious  life  of 
Cambridge.  Its  influence  is  felt  in  many  parishes  at  home  and  in 
many  of  the  dark  places  of  heathendom.  No  one  who  took  any  part 
in  this  mission  could  have  been  tempted  to  glorify  the  human  agents 
or  ascribe  its  success  to  them.  It  was  the  work  of  God.  Mr.  Moody 
had  none  of  those  qualifications  which  would  mark  him  out  as 
specially  fitted  to  influence  the  members  of  an  English  university; 
unlettered  and  ignorant  of  the  customs  of  university  men,  by  the 
power  of  God  which  rested  upon  him  he  accomplished  a  work  of 
which  no  adequate  account  will  be  given  until  the  Day  of  Christ." 

From  Cambridge  the  evangelists  went  to  Oxford.  The  mission 
opened  on  Monday  evening,  November  I3th,  with  a  general  meeting 
in  the  Corn  Exchange.  The  crowd  speedily  overflowed  that  build- 
ing and  more  than  filled  the  hall  close  by.  As  Moody  began  to  read  a 
chapter  from  the  book  of  Ezekiel,  some  of  the  audience  began  to 
stamp  and  shout  "  Hear,  hear !  "  Mr.  Moody  immediately  closed  his 
Bible,  and  rebuked  them  sharply. 

"  You  had  better  play  with  forked  lightning  or  meddle  with  the 
most  deadly  disease,"  he  said,  "  than  trifle  with  the  Word  of  God." 

He  then  asked  those  gentlemen  to  rise  who  wished  him  to  continue, 
and  the  whole  assembly,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  young  men, 
instantly  did  so.  The  result  was  striking  and  effective,  and  there 
were  no  more  interruptions  during  the  evening.  The  second  and 
third  nights  there  was  still  a  manifest  intention  to  make  fun  of  the 


354  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

services.  The  second  evening  Mr.  Moody  preached  on  "  Repent- 
ance," and  the  third  night  on  "  Sowing  and  Reaping."  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  in  his  discourse  on  Wednesday  evening  before  it  was 
evident,  from  the  audible  adverse  criticisms,  that  there  were  many 
present  who  were  not  inclined  to  give  the  speaker  a  fair  hearing. 

A  large  company  returning  from  a  champagne  supper  attended 
the  meeting,  and  their  boisterous  conduct  made  it  difficult  for  the 
speaker  to  be  heard.  Hymns  were  applauded,  and  derisive  "  amens  " 
accompanied  the  prayers.  This  company  intent  on  mischief,  at- 
tended the  second  meeting  for  the  students  and  undertook  to  break 
it  up. 

Mr.  Moody  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  young  men, 
most  of  whom  had  been  among  the  disturbers  on  the  previous  occa- 
sion. With  that  readiness  of  resource  which  so  often  stood  him  in 
good  stead,  he  seized  the  opportunity,  and  proceeded  in  the  plainest, 
though  most  courteous,  terms  to  tell  the  young  men  what  he  thought 
of  them  and  their  reprehensible  conduct.  Addressing  them  simply 
as  those  who,  like  himself,  would  lay  claim  to  the  title  of  "gentlemen," 
he  said  that  they  owed  him  an  apology  for  the  treatment  which  he 
had  received  at  their  hands.  He  had  been  invited  by  their  fellow- 
students  to  come  and  speak  to  them,  and  the  least  they  could  have 
done  would  have  been  to  give  him  a  respectful  hearing. 

"  I  have  always  heard  of  the  proverbial  love  of  the  English  gentle- 
man for  fair  play,"  he  said.  "  As  an  invited  guest  to  Oxford  I  ex- 
pected at  least  to  receive  a  fair  chance  to  be  heard.  I  am  here  at 
the  invitation  of  your  fellow-collegians,  and  your  condition  after 
a  champagne  supper  is  the  only  explanation  I  can  give  of  your 
conduct." 

The  inference  was  too  much,  and  several  demanded  if  Mr.  Moody 
meant  to  say  they  were  drunk. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  I  can  only  say  that  the  less  said  about  that 
the  better.  The  wine  supper  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most  charitable 
explanation  of  your  conduct.  Now,"  he  said  in  conclusion,  "  you 


Among  College  Students  355 

owe  me  an  apology,  and  to  show  you  mean  it  I  expect  that  you  will 
all  be  present  at  the  meeting  to-morrow  night  and  give  me  a  fair 
hearing." 

They  assented  to  all  he  said,  and  offered  a  verbal  apology  for  having 
so  transgressed  the  rules  of  common  civility.  Mr.  Moody  accepted 
this  apology  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  but  he  said  they  ought  to 
make  further  reparation  by  taking  prominent  seats  in  the  meeting 
the  next  night  and  listening  quietly  to  his  remarks. 

The  result  entirely  justified  his  line  of  action.  Having  thoroughly 
earned  their  personal  respect,  he  succeeded  in  gaining  a  hearing  for 
the  message  he  had  to  deliver,  and  the  next  night  the  band  was  present 
in  full  force,  taking  prominent  seats  and  giving  the  closest  attention 
throughout.  From  this  time  the  strength  of  the  opposition  was 
broken,  and  on  the  following  evening  the  Clarendon  Assembly  Room 
had  become  too  small  for  the  growing  numbers  of  undergraduates 
that  attended,  and  they  met  in  the  Town  Hall.  Mr.  Moody's  subject 
was  the  value  of  moral  courage  in  a  bold  confession  of  Christ  before 
men,  and  many  instances  from  the  Scriptures  illustrated  this.  Having 
dismissed  the  first  meeting  and  gathered  a  large  number  of  men  near 
the  platform,  Mr.  Moody  mounted  one  of  the  seats  and  adopted  a 
more  colloquial  form  of  address. 

"  It  will  be  a  cross  to  you,"  he  said,  "  to  confess  Christ  to-night, 
but  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  take  it  up.  If  you  intend  to  see  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  you  will  have  to  take  up  the  cross.  It  will  never 
be  easier  than  now.  '  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  Me  before  men, 
him  will  I  confess  before  My  Father  which  is  in  Heaven.'  Think 
of  Jesus  Christ  confessing  you,  and  saying,  '  This  is  My  disciple.'  Is 
there  not  some  one  here  who  is  willing  to  take  up  the  cross  and  say 
right  out, '  I  will '  ?  " 

One  voice  sounding  forth  the  response  gave  courage  to  others,  and 
a  stream  of  "  I  wills  "  came  thick  and  fast. 

"  Thank  God !  "  said  Moody,  "  I  like  those  '  I  wills.'  Young  men, 
you  don't  know  how  cheering  this  is;  it  is  worth  a  whole  lifetime  of 


356  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

toil.  This  is  joy  that  fills  me  full.  Thank  God  for  giving  you  cour- 
age to  speak  out.  Is  there  not  another  here  who  will  take  a  bold 
stand  for  Christ  ?  Perhaps  some  of  you  will  say,  '  Why  can't  I  do  it 
at  home?  '  So  you  can,  but  it  is  a  good  thing  to  do  it  here. 

"  I  remember  the  first  time  I  stood  up  to  testify  for  Christ.  My 
knees  smote  together  and  I  trembled  from  head  to  foot ;  my  thoughts 
left  me;  I  spoke  a  few  words  and  then  sat  down;  but  I  got  such  a 
blessing  to  my  soul  that  it  has  followed  me  until  now.  It  helps  a 
man  wonderfully  to  take  a  bold  stand  and  let  the  world — both  friends 
and  enemies — know  that  you  are  on  the  Lord's  side.  It  is  so  easy 
to  serve  Him  after  you  have  taken  your  stand.  If  a  number  of  you 
were  to  come  right  out  for  God  together,  you  would  change  the  whole 
tone  of  this  university.  I  could  stand  all  night  and  hear  those  '  I 
wills.'  They  are  about  the  sweetest  thing  one  can  hear  outside  of 
Heaven." 

Mr.  Moody  had  taken  a  strong  stand  from  the  outset,  and  he  knew 
that  he  had  won  the  day.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  stop  here,  but 
those  who  knew  him  could  not  expect  to  have  the  matter  end  simply 
with  a  confession  of  Christ.  He  hazarded  a  further  test,  though  he 
said  he  had  some  hesitation  in  doing  it.  He  suggested  that  those 
'sitting  on  the  first  three  seats  in  the  front  should  vacate  them,  and 
that  those  who  had  just  spoken  should  come,  and,  kneeling  there, 
dedicate  themselves  to  the  Lord.  The  request  was  scarcely  uttered 
before  some  five  or  six  rows  of  seats  were  filled  with  a  solid  phalanx 
of  kneeling  figures. 

"  We  have  seen  a  good  many  of  Mr.  Moody's  and  other  evan- 
gelistic meetings,"  wrote  a  correspondent  for  "  The  Christian,"  "  but 
if  we  can  trust  our  memory  we  have  never  seen  any  like  this.  The 
power  of  God  seemed  to  be  present  in  such  a  degree  that  these  young 
men,  many  of  them  the  flower  of  the  rising  intellect  of  our  land, 
seemed  to  be  swayed  at  his  will  like  the  ripe  standing  corn  before  the 
breezes  of  heaven.  We  could  but  exclaim  in  our  hearts :  '  //  is  the 
Lord's  doing,  and  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.1  " 


Among  College  Students  357 

In  the  mission  which  followed  in  London  during  the  succeeding 
winter  many  of  Mr.  Moody's  most  efficient  helpers  came  from  the 
universities  visited  at  this  time.  Doubtless  this  did  much  to  influence 
him  in  his  work  among  students,  and  his  special  interest  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  student  work  dates  from  this  period.  His 
cooperation  in  this  effort  was  enlisted  early  in  its  history,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  he  raised  by  personal  solicitation  the  necessary  funds  for 
the  support  of  this  department  of  the  work.  It  was  in  response  to 
his  earnest  appeal  that  J.  E.  K.  Studd,  of  England,  and  Henry  Drum- 
mond  visited  the  leading  American  colleges  in  the  winter  of  1886  and 
the  fall  of  1887. 

In  the  establishment  of  the  Northfield  "Students'  Conference"  Mr. 
Moody  contributed  as  largely  as  in  any  other  way  to  the  religious 
life  of  the  American  colleges.  In  the  winter  of  1886,  while  travelling 
in  the  Southern  States,  he  met  one  of  the  early  secretaries  of  the 
college  department  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
in  a  conversation  regarding  the  needs  of  the  work  Mr.  Moody  urged 
a  greater  prominence  for  Bible  study  among  students.  The  counter- 
suggestion  was  then  made  that  he  should  give  a  daily  course  of 
Bible  instruction  to  a  number  of  college  men  during  the  month  of 
July,  to  which  he  acceded,  on  condition  that  the  management  of  the 
details  for  the  entertainment  of  the  guests  should  be  assumed  by  the 
secretaries  of  the  Association.  Plans  were  made  at  once  for  the  first 
of  those  gatherings  of  students  which  have  since  become  so  promi- 
nent a  feature  of  the  Northfield  work.  The  invitation  to  Northfield 
met  with  an  acceptance  far  more  general  than  had  been  anticipated, 
and  it  was  decided  to  hold  the  meetings  at  the  Mount  Hermon  Boys' 
School  during  the  month  of  July. 

On  July  7th  the  conference  opened  with  an  attendance  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  students,  representing  eighty  colleges  in  twenty-five 
States.  Mr.  Moody  presided  at  the  morning  meetings,  which  were 
devoted  to  Bible  study,  in  which  informal  teaching  was  given  the 
preference  over  regular  discourses.  Questions  were  freely  asked  and 


358  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

answered.  The  afternoons  were  given  up  to  athletic  sports  and  quiet 
study,  either  alone  or  in  groups.  A  peculiar  tenderness  of  feeling 
prevailed  during  the  closing  days  of  the  meeting. 

The  most  prominent  outward  result  of  this  conference  was  the 
attention  given  to  foreign  missions.  Sons  of  missionaries  and  na- 
tives from  foreign  lands  spoke  at  some  of  the  meetings,  and  before 
the  conference  broke  up  nearly  one  hundred  students  announced  their 
intention  to  become  foreign  missionaries  whenever  fitted  and  re- 
quired. From  this  small  beginning  the  Student  Volunteer  Move- 
ment has  grown  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  factors  in  the 
missionary  work  of  the  church  to-day. 

Although  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the  missionary  cause,  as  the 
results  of  his  work  everywhere  show,  the  Volunteer  Movement  did 
not  at  first  receive  Mr.  Moody's  indorsement.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
leaders  he  felt  to  be  unwise,  as  it  brought  undue  pressure  to  bear 
upon  young  people  and  led  them  to  decide  impulsively  to  pledge 
themselves  to  a  work  which  no  one  should  enter  upon  without  the 
clearest  call,  not  from  man  only,  but  directly  from  God.  His  attitude 
was  invariably  consistent :  all  that  could  be  urged  upon  any  one  was 
willingness  to  do  what  God  called  him  to  do;  but,  as  he  himself  ex- 
pressed it,  "  It  is  a  great  pity  for  young  men  to  place  themselves  under 
a  pledge  to  enter  any  form  of  Christian  work  before  God  calls  them, 
and  He  never  calls  a  man  until  he  is  ready."  The  wisdom  of  this 
has  since  been  recognized  by  many  ardent  students  of  missions, 
and  the  large  number  of  unfulfilled  pledges  and  candidates  un- 
adapted  to  missionary  endeavor  testify  to  his  knowledge  of  human 
nature. 

The  success  of  this  conference  at  Mount  Hermon  School  effectually 
dissipated  Mr.  Moody's  doubt  of  his  call  to  work  for  the  colleges,  and 
he  heartily  agreed  to  repeat  the  Northfield  conference  the  next  year. 
From  this  time  he  frequently  conducted  evangelistic  meetings  in  col- 
leges, and  further  manifested  his  interest  in  Christian  work  among 
students,  as  is  shown  by  his  having  raised  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars 


Among  College  Students  359 

for  the  support  of  the  administrative  work  of  the  Students'  Christian 
Association. 

The  attendance  has  steadily  increased  at  these  gatherings,  and  now 
there  are  about  seven  hundred  registered  delegates  each  year.  In 
addition  to  this  there  are  nearly  as  many  guests,  who  come  to  North- 
field  especially  to  attend  the  platform  meetings,  which  are  open  to  all. 
Missionaries  from  many  lands,  presidents  and  professors  of  colleges, 
pastors  of  leading  churches,  and  other  Christian  workers  address  the 
students,  who  gather  from  nearly  every  leading  college  and  university 
in  this  country,  Canada,  and  Great  Britain,  and  such  speakers  as 
Henry  Drummond,  John  Mott,  Robert  E.  Speer,  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie, R.  A.  Torrey,  Francis  L.  Patton,  and  Henry  Clay  Trumbull 
have  been  prominent  at  these  annual  gatherings  in  past  years. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

NORTHFIELD    CONFERENCES 

THE  Northfield  Christian  Workers'  Conference,  or,  as  it  is 
more  commonly  known,  the  Northfield  Bible  Conference, 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  Students'  Conference  held  in  the 
month  of  July,  was  the  first  of  the  summer  gatherings  assembled 
at  Mr.  Moody's  home.  This  conference  is  of  special  interest  as 
it  expresses  the  spiritual  development  of  the  leader  himself  dur- 
ing the  last  twenty  years  of  his  ministry,  and  has  proved  to  be  one 
of  the  most  permanent  results  that  he  achieved  for  the  Christian 
church. 

In  making  Northfield  his  home  Mr.  Moody  had  a  twofold  object 
in  view.  As  a  father  he  was  always  watchful  of  the  physical  as  well 
as  the  moral  welfare  of  his  children.  In  the  wholesome  country  life 
in  which  he  had  himself  laid  the  foundations  of  a  rugged  constitution 
he  hoped  to  have  his  children  equally  benefited.  The  quiet  of  a  small 
New  England  village,  he  thought,  would  also  give  him  ample  time  for 
study,  which  he  could  not  pursue  while  actively  engaged  in  missions, 
and  so,  to  bring  about  these  two  results,  he  decided  to  spend  a  few 
weeks  each  summer  in  his  native  town,  at  the  same  time  visiting  his 
mother. 

But  public  services  had  become  a  second  nature  to  him,  and  even 
during  this  short  season  of  relaxation  he  was  soon  arranging  meet- 
ings. On  Sundays  he  was  usually  away  from  home,  preaching  in 
neighboring  towns,  and  the  sight  of  Mr.  Moody  driving  his  old  gray 
horse  "  Nellie  Grey  "  was  a  familiar  one  to  all  the  villages  within  a 


Northfield  Conferences  361 

radius  of  twenty-five  miles  of  Northfield.  He  was  also  a  regular  at- 
tendant at  the  mid-week  prayer-meeting,  helping  to  build  up  the 
local  church  in  every  way.  During  the  second  summer  spent  there 
he  began  a  series  of  informal  Bible  readings,  to  which  the  neighbors 
were  invited.  These  gatherings  were  held  in  his  own  house,  and  the 
attendance  would  frequently  more  than  fill  the  limited  accommoda- 
tions of  his  dining-room,  numbers  standing  outside  on  the  verandas 
by  the  open  windows.  Usually  he  would  conduct  these  meetings 
himself,  although  sometimes  a  prominent  visitor  would  be  called  upon 
to  speak. 

In  the  spring  of  1880  Dr.  William  Blaikie,  of  Edinburgh,  visited 
Mr.  Moody,  and  a  week's  series  of  Bible  readings  was  at  once 
arranged  to  be  held  in  the  new  recitation  hall,  now  Revell  Hall,  of 
the  Northfield  Seminary.  These  were  only  occasional  indications 
of  a  deeper  purpose,  probably  very  indefinite  in  his  own  mind  at  the 
time,  but  ultimately  to  find  expression  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Northfield  Bible  Conferences. 

In  November,  1879,  ne  began  an  evangelistic  mission  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  The  customary  conference  for  Christian  workers  was  held 
at  the  close  of  the  series  of  evangelistic  meetings,  at  which  time  the 
Rev.  H.  B.  Hartzler  gave  an  address  on  "  Prayer  for  the  Church," 
which  deeply  impressed  Mr.  Moody,  who  sat  immediately  in  front  of 
the  speaker.  As  Mr.  Hartzler  proceeded,  Mr.  Moody  bowed  his 
head  in  deep  meditation  for  a  time,  then,  as  if  some  plan  of  action  had 
suddenly  commended  itself,  he  raised  his  head,  flashed  one  quick 
glance  at  Mr.  Hartzler,  and  resumed  his  position.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  he  at  once  drew  Mr.  Hartzler  aside  to  the  pastor's  study  and 
abruptly  announced :  "  I  want  you  to  come  to  Northfield  next  sum- 
mer. Will  you  ?  I  want  to  have  a  meeting  to  wait  on  God,  and  want 
you"  This  was  rather  too  sudden  for  the  other,  who  could  not  make 
an  engagement  so  far  ahead. 

On  August  4th  of  the  following  year,  however,  he  received  the 
following  letter : 


362  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

NORTHFIELD,  MASS. 

"  DEAR  MR.  HARTZLER  :  Enclosed  you  will  find  a  circular  that  will 
explain  itself.  [The  call  for  the  first  conference.]  I  got  a  start 
towards  it  in  your  city  when  you  spoke  at  the  convention  there  about 
November  ist.  Now,  will  you  come?  I  want  you  above  any  other 
man  in  this  nation.  Do  not  say  me  nay,  but  come  and  let  us  wait  on 

God  together. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

The  call,  entitled  "  A  Convocation  for  Prayer,"  was  as  follows : 

"  Feeling  deeply  this  great  need,  and  believing  that  its  reward  is 
in  reserve  for  all  who  honestly  seek  it,  a  gathering  is  hereby  called  to 
meet  in  Northfield,  Mass.,  from  September  ist  to  loth  inclusive,  the 
object  of  which  is  not  so  much  to  study  the  Bible  (though  the  Scrip- 
tures will  be  searched  daily  for  instruction  and  promises)  as  for  sol- 
emn self-consecration,  for  pleading  God's  promises,  and  waiting  upon 
Him  for  a  fresh  anointment  of  power  from  on  high. 

"  Not  a  few  of  God's  chosen  servants  from  our  own  land  and  from 
over  the  sea  will  be  present  to  join  with  us  in  prayer  and  counsel. 

"  All  ministers  and  laymen,  and  those  women  who  are  helpers  and 
laborers  together  with  us  in  the  Kingdom  and  patience  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ — and,  indeed,  all  Christians  who  are  hungering  for  inti- 
mate fellowship  with  God  and  for  power  to  do  His  work — are  most 
cordially  invited  to  assemble  with  us. 

"  It  is  also  hoped  that  those  Christians  whose  hearts  are  united 
with  us  in  desire  for  this  new  enduement  of  power,  but  who  cannot 
be  present,  will  send  us  salutation  and  greeting  by  letter,  that  there 
may  be  concert  of  prayer  with  them  throughout  the  land  during 
these  days  of  waiting. 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

Mr.  Hartzler  accepted  the  invitation,  and  was  urged  by  Mr.  Moody 
to  assume  charge  and  preside  at  all  the  meetings.  With  this  request 


Northfield  Conferences  363 

— probably  the  only  one  he  ever  refused  Mr.  Moody — he  positively 
declined  to  comply,  and  Mr.  Moody  was  obliged  to  assume  the  leader- 
ship himself.  In  later  years  Mr.  Hartzler  became  one  of  his  most 
valued  helpers  at  Northfield,  both  in  the  Mount  Hermon  School  and 
at  the  several  Northfield  Conferences,  and  Mr.  Moody  often  referred 
in  terms  of  warmest  appreciation  to  that  convention  in  Cleveland 
where  he  first  met  this  friend. 

Over  three  hundred  visitors  responded  to  the  first  call.  Those 
who  could  not  be  accommodated  in  East  Hall,  the  one  dormitory 
building  of  the  Northfield  Seminary  at  this  time,  filled  the  recitation 
building,  and  crowded  the  astonished  town,  some  camping  out  in 
tents  wherever  a  sheltered  corner  was  to  be  found.  The  village 
church  was  scarcely  large  enough  for  a  meeting-place,  and  a  large 
tent  was  pitched  behind  Mr.  Moody's  house. 

The  second  convention  was  held  the  year  following;  then,  owing  to 
Mr.  Moody's  campaigns  in  Great  Britain,  there  was  an  interval  of 
three  years;  but  since  a  third  gathering,  in  1885,  they  have  been  held 
without  interruption  every  successive  year  during  the  early  part  of 
August. 

The  meetings  of  the  first  conference  were  largely  devotional, 
study  being  directed  especially  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Many  prayers  were  offered  in  behalf  of  the  new  institutions  at  North- 
field,  designed,  as  they  were,  to  be  distinctly  a  place  for  Christian 
nurture  and  a  training-school  for  Christian  laborers.  The  meeetings 
proved  most  impressive  and  fruitful. 

"  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  modern  times  no  such  gathering  as  the 
first  Northfield  conference  has  been  witnessed,"  writes  Mr.  Hartzler. 
"  Like  the  Jerusalem  Pentecost,  there  were  present '  devout  men  out 
of  every  nation  under  heaven.'  America,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa 
had  their  representatives.  It  was  interesting  to  find  brethren  there 
from  almost  every  State  in  the  Union ;  from  Mexico,  ,Canada,  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Wales,  South  Africa,  Athens,  Smyrna,  Cappadocia, 
and  many  other  lands  and  cities;  pastors  and  evangelists,  professors 


364  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  editors,  elders  and  deacons,  devout  women  and  earnest  youth, 
and  'all  with  one  accord  in  one  place! 

"  Another  remarkable  feature  of  the  convocation  was  the  wide- 
spread interest  and  sympathy  with  the  object  of  the  gathering,  which 
was  manifested  in  hundreds  of  letters  and  telegrams  that  came  pour- 
ing in  from  all  parts  of  this  and  other  lands.  Mr.  Moody  began  to 
receive  these  communications  weeks  before  the  meetings  opened,  and 
they  kept  coming  by  scores  even  to  the  closing  day.  Christian  asso- 
ciations, colleges,  young  ladies'  seminaries,  churches,  camp  meetings, 
women's  prayer-meetings,  individual  ministers  and  laymen,  and  al- 
most every  class  and  condition  of  Christian  people  were  in  communi- 
cation with  those  present.  It  is  especially  noticeable  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  letters  were  from  ministers  of  the  various  denomi- 
nations. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  ninth  day  there  were  more  than  three  thousand 
requests  for  prayers  piled  up  on  Mr.  Moody's  desk.  He  had  held 
them  until  that  time,  feeling  that  those  present  needed  first  to  draw 
near  to  God  in  prevailing  prayer  for  themselves  before  they  began  to 
pray  for  others.  He  learned  also  that  meetings  for  the  same  object 
were  being  held  in  a  number  of  places.  He  had  no  programme  for 
the  meeting.  At  first  he  took  no  leading  part  in  the  speaking,  call- 
ing others  to  the  front,  but  finally  he  yielded  to  the  general  desire  to 
hear  him,  and  preached  two  or  three  sermons  on  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  main  object  of  the  conference,  as  set  forth  in  the  call,  was  so 
manifestly  approved  of  God  that  it  was  steadily  kept  in  view  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  object  was  '  solemn  self-consecration,  plead- 
ing God's  promises,  and  waiting  on  Him  for  a  fresh  anointing  of 
power  from  on  high.' 

Don't  think  of  your  homes,  your  families,  your  work,  or  your 
churches  now,'  said  Mr.  Moody  at  one  of  the  meetings.  '  Don't  pray 
for  anything  or  anybody  but  yourself.  Attend  now  to  your  own 
heart  only.' 

"  One  day  a  man  arose  who  said  that  he  had  been  five  years  on  the 


NortMeld  Conferences  367 

Mount  of  Transfiguration.  Mr.  Moofly  cast  a  quick  glance  upon 
the  speaker  and  flashed  into  his  face  a  sharp  question : 

"  '  How  many  souls  did  you  lead  to  Christ  last  year? ' 

"  '  Well,  I  don't  know,'  was  the  astonished  reply. 

"  '  Have  you  saved  any  ?  '  persisted  Mr.  Moody. 

' '  I  don't  know  that  I  have,'  answered  the  man  with  a  depressed 
air. 

"  '  Well,'  said  Mr.  Moody, '  we  don't  want  that  kind  of  a  mountain- 
top  experience.  When  a  man  gets  up  so  high  that  he  cannot  reach 
down  and  save  poor  sinners,  there  is  something  wrong.' 

"  Meetings  were  held  in  the  Seminary  chapel  and  also  daily  in  a 
large  tent  on  a  green  knoll  near  Mr.  Moody's  house,  later  known  as 
'  Round  Top/  and  now  the  burial-place  of  the  evangelist.  The  men 
met  in  this  tent,  and  the  women  held  their  meetings  in  the  Seminary 
chapel.  At  the  close  of  the  morning  meetings  in  the  tent  other 
meetings  were  held  in  Bonar  Glen,  a  shady  ravine  under  the  trees, 
and  in  the  Seminary.  To  many  these  meetings  are  still  memorable, 
and  will  be  while  life  lasts." 

Dr.  Hartzler  refers  to  one  meeting  which  he  considered  especially 
sacred.  It  was  held  in  a  large  tent  on  Round  Top. 

"  Under  common  impulse  the  little  company  of  twenty-six  clasped 
one  another's  hands,  stood  in  a  circle,  and  entered  into  a  solemn  cove- 
nant of  consecration  with  God  and  with  one  another.  Some  one 
proposed  that  each  one  take  a  list  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  all. 
and  that  we  pledge  ourselves  to  pray  daily  for  each  other  till  death. 

"  '  No,'  said  Mr.  Moody,  '  don't  bind  yourselves  to  do  that.  Pray 
for  one  another,  of  course,  but  don't  pledge  yourselves  to-  do  it  every 
day,  lest  you  burden  your  conscience  and  make  an  irksome  duty  out 
of  what  should  be  a  delightful  privilege.'  " 

Some  words  of  caution  spoken  by  Mr.  Moody  at  the  close  of  this 
meeting  may  well  be  recalled  at  this  time : 

"  Don't  go  away  and  talk  so  much  about  these  meetings  as  about 
Christ;  the  world  needs  Him, 

31  —  -       -  - 


^68  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Every  place  where  God  leads,  there  is  your  field. 

"  Don't  talk  an  inch  beyond  your  experience. 

"  A  holy  life  will  produce  the  deepest  impression.  Lighthouses 
blow  no  horns;  they  only  shine. 

"  Confessions  should  only  extend  to  parties  sinned  against. 

"  Look  out  for  the  devil  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain." 

Among  the  interesting  incidents  of  that  meeting  which  have  been 
received  from  friends  two  are  given : 

"  We  were  perhaps  a  hundred  men,  seated  on  the  clean  straw  under 
the  tent  at  noon,  on  Round  Top.  Mr.  Moody  was  leading  the  con- 
versation hour.  He  sat  sturdily  against  the  central  tent-pole.  Out 
came  the  plump  question : 

"  '  Brethren,  how  many  of  you  have  so  grown  in  grace  that  you 
can  bear  to  have  your  faults  told  ?  ' 

''  Many  hands  went  up.  Quick  as  a  flash,  but  not  sharply  or  in- 
sultingly, Moody  turned  to  a  young  Episcopal  minister  in  front  of 
him  and  said : 

' '  Brother,  you  have  spoken  thirteen  times  in  three  days  here,  and 
perhaps  shut  out  twelve  other  good  men  from  speaking.' 

"  It  was  true.  The  young  man  had  been  presuming  and  officious. 
Mr.  Moody  fitted  him  fairly.  He  had  held  up  his  hand  as  one  willing 
to  be  chided  for  fault,  but  he  could  not  bear  it.  He  owned  no  fault 
or  sorrow,  but  stoutly  defended  himself — or  tried  to — only  making 
his  case  really  the  worse.  Then  a  real  old  Yankee  vinegar-face  on 
the  outer  rim  of  the  circle  turned  loose  and  sharply  berated  Moody 
for  his  bluntness.  The  good  man  blushed,  but  listened  until  the 
abuse  was  over;  then,  suggestively  covering  his  face,  he  spoke 
through  his  fingers. 

Brethren,  I  admit  all  the  fault  my  friend  charges  on  me;  but, 
brethren,  /  did  not  hold  up  my  tiand!  '  " 

At  one  of  these  meetings  for  Christian  workers  Mr.  Moody  pre- 
sented a  very  high  ideal  for  the  ministry,  and  spoke  severely  of  those 
who  failed  in  their  sacred  calling.  His  words  were  very  pointed,  and 


Northfield  Conferences  369 

a  young  theologue  who  was  present  winced,  and  spoke  out  ingenu- 
ously : 

"  Mr.  Moody,  I  don't  see  any  such  ministers  as  you  describe."  It 
was  a  frank  and  outspoken  remonstrance,  but  not  rude.  Quick  as  a 
flash  came  the  retort : 

"  You  are  a  young  man  yet;  you  will  see  many  of  them.  Tarry 
in  Jericho  until  your  beard  be  grown." 

The  reply  was  unjust  and  it  hurt,  yet  there  was  too  much  life  in  the 
meeting  for  stopping.  In  writing  of  the  scene,  a  friend  says : 

"  It  went  on  with  a  clear  sense  that  the  evangelist  had  dropped  a 
little  from  his  standard  of  loving  courtesy  to  his  guests.  He  could 
have  ignored  it;  the  tide  of  his  eloquence  was  full.  Yet  the  most 
eloquent  was  to  come.  In  my  heart  has  ever  since  been  written  a 
memory  which  brings  moisture  into  my  eyes  yet,  and  ranks  itself  un- 
questionably as  the  greatest  thing  I  ever  saw  Moody  do. 

"  '  Friends,'  he  said,  '  I  answered  my  dear  young  friend  over  there 
very  foolishly  as  I  began  this  meeting.  I  ask  God  to  forgive  me,  and 
I  ask  the  forgiveness  of  my  brother.'  And  straightway  he  walked 
over  to  him  and  took  him  by  the  hand.  That  meeting  needed  no 
after-meeting.  It  was  dramatically  and  spiritually  made  perfect. 
The  man  of  iron  will  proved  that  he  had  mastered  the  hardest  words 
of  all  earth's  languages,  '  I  am  sorry.'  " 

The  many  testimonials  of  blessing  that  resulted  from  the  first  Con- 
ference led  Mr.  Moody  to  call  a  second  gathering  the  following  year, 
which  continued  through  the  entire  month  of  August.  Dr.  Andrew 
A.  Bonar  was  the  leading  speaker  on  this  occasion,  and  his  impres- 
sions are  thus  given  in  his  diary,  recently  published : 

"  August  4th.  Northfield.  Began  yesterday,  but  specially  to-day 
the  Conference  took  shape.  Was  requested  to  open,  which  I  did  from 
Exodus,  xxxiv.,  Communion  with  God.  A  gathering  of  God's  peo- 
ple from  every  quarter." 

"August  1 3th.     Much  exercised  about  getting  power  from  on 


3  7o  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

high,  about  which  much  conversation.  I  am  rather  disappointed 
that  there  is  not  more  prayer  throughout  the  day,  but  the  atmosphere 
is  delightful — so  much  brotherly  love,  so  much  Biblical  truth,  so  much 
delight  in  whatever  exalts  Christ. 

"  August  1 4th.  Preached  on  John,  iii.  30.  Mr.  Moody  as  kind  as 
possible  and  most  earnest  in  all  work." 

When  Mr.  Moody  was  abroad  in  1892,  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  of  Bos- 
ton, had  charge  of  the  meetings,  and  the  following  year,  when  the 
World's  Fair  Campaign  engrossed  all  of  Mr.  Moody's  energies,  Dr. 
Gordon,  assisted  by  H.  M.  Moore,  again  conducted  the  Conference. 

In  1891  the  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  of  London,  a  prominent  speaker  at 
the  Keswick  Conference  in  England,  was  present  at  Northfield,  and 
the  subjective  side  of  Christian  living  received  special  prominence. 
There  was  no  advocacy  of  "  sinless  perfection,"  but  a  clear  presenta- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  a  life  truly  yielded  to  God  and  the  privilege 
it  afforded  of  living  free  from  the  bondage  of  sin.  The  message  of 
this  teacher  was  markedly  fruitful  in  the  lives  and  ministries  of  many 
who  were  present.  Mr.  Meyer  returned  in  succeeding  years,  and 
other  English  speakers  have  laid  great  emphasis  of  late  on  this  line 
of  teaching,  including,  among  others,  Prebendary  Webb-Peploe, 
Andrew  Murray,  and  G.  Campbell  Morgan. 

There  again  Mr.  Moody  showed  the  sound  judgment  that  guided 
his  work,  for  he  refused  to  limit  the  Northfield  work  to  any  one  phase 
of  Christian  truth.  Northfield  was  to  be  representative  of  all  the  truth 
contained  in  God's  Word,  and  while  giving  due  prominence  to  the 
importance  of  subjective  dealing,  he  accompanied  it  with  lectures 
from  the  leading  American  ministers  on  methods  of  Christian  work, 
Bible  interpretation,  and  all  the  other  varied  experiences  of  a  wide  and 
charitable  conception  of  Christian  thought  and  activity.  Missionary 
interests  have  been  presented  by  representatives  of  all  lands,  while 
city,  frontier,  and  evangelistic  work  have  received  the  due  recogni- 
tion they  deserve. 

The  wisdom  of  this  course  is  amply  proved  by  the  continued 


INTERIOR  NORTHFIELD  AUDITORIUM  DURING  CONFERENCE. 


MEMBERS  OF  NEW  YORK  PRESBYTERY  IN  ATTENDANCE  AT  NORTHFIELD 
CONFERENCE,   1899. 


MR.  MOODY  AS  HE  APPEARED  AS  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  NORTHFIELD  CONFERENC 


NCES. 


Northfield  Conferences  373 

growth  of  these  Conferences  and  the  many  testimonies  received  from 
those  who  have  been  blessed  in  attending  them. 

For  years  Stone  Hall,  the  recitation  hall  of  the  Northfield  Semi- 
nary, was  used  as  the  audience-room  for  the  summer  Conferences,  but 
in  time  this  became  overcrowded,  and  in  1894  the  beautiful  audi- 
torium on  the  crest  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  campus  was  erected, 
primarily  for  these  gatherings. 

"  I  have  always  tried  to  build  according  to  my  faith,"  said  Mr. 
Moody  on  the  opening  night.  "  This  time  my  friends  think  my  faith 
has  carried  me  away.  They  do  not  believe  that  I  shall  ever  see 
this  building  full."  Within  a  week,  on  the  first  Sunday  morning, 
seats,  platform,  stairways,  and  aisles  were  filled  with  an  audience 
numbering  about  three  thousand,  and  this  experience  has  been  re- 
peated every  year. 

The  following  call,  dated  June  i,  1899,  was  the  last  one  that  Mr. 
Moody  issued : 

"  DEAR  FRIENDS  AND  FELLOW-WORKERS  : 

"  The  seventeenth  General  Conference  of  Christian  Workers  will 
be  held  at  Northfield,  August  ist  to  2Oth,  and  all  of  God's  people  who 
are  interested  in  the  study  of  His  Word,  in  the  development  of  their 
own  Christian  lives,  in  a  revival  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Church,  in 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  in  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  are 
cordially  invited  to  be  present. 

"  I  am  glad  to  send  out  this  invitation  to  my  fellow-workers  be- 
cause I  believe  that  such  a  gathering  was  never  more  needed  than 
this  year.  Many  thoughtful  men  have  come  to  feel  strongly  that 
the  hope  of  the  Church  to-day  is  in  a  deep  and  wide-spread  revival. 
We  are  confronted  with  difficulties  that  can  be  met  in  no  other  way. 
The  enemy  has  come  in  like  a  flood— it  is  time  for  those  who  believe 
in  a  supernatural  religion  to  lock  to  God  to  lift  up  a  standard  against 
him.  Oh,  for  a  revival  of  such  power  that  the  tide  of  unbelief  and 
worldliness  that  is  sweeping  in  upon  us  shall  be  beaten  back;  that 


374  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

every  Christian  shall  be  lifted  to  a  higher  level  of  life  and  power,  and 
multitudes  of  perishing  souls  be  converted  to  God!  Why  not? 
God's  arm  is  not  shortened,  nor  His  ear  heavy.  I  believe  the  sound 
of  the  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry  trees  may  already  be  heard. 

"  The  history  of  revivals  proves  that  such  a  work  must  begin  at  the 
house  of  God.  Who  can  doubt  that  if  somehow  the  Church  could 
be  thoroughly  aroused — not  a  mere  scratching  of  the  surface  of  our 
emotions,  but  a  deep  heart-work  that  shall  make  us  right  with  God 
and  clothe  us  with  power  in  prayer  and  service — the  last  months  of 
this  century  would  witness  the  mightiest  movements  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  since  Pentecost?  The  whole  aim  of  this  conference  is  to  help 
bring  this  about. 

"Why  need  any  pastor  or  church  fail  to  share  in  the  blessing? 
How  sad  the  experience  of  that  worker  who  sees  others  greatly  used 
in  such  a  movement  and  himself  passed  by — other  fields  rejoicing 
with  the  joy  of  harvest  while  his  still  lies  barren  and  unfruitful !  It 
need  not  be  so.  Let  us  break  up  our  fallow  ground,  seek  a  fresh 
anointing  of  the  Spirit,  and  then  move  forward,  expecting  great 
things  of  God. 

"  We  are  to  have  with  us  some  of  the  most  widely  known  teachers 
of  this  country  and  England — men  on  whose  labors  God  has  already 
set  His  seal.  There  will  be  the  great  help  that  comes  from  close 
contact  with  hundreds  of  earnest  men  and  women,  almost  all  of  them 
engaged  in  some  form  of  Christian  work.  The  accommodations  for 
boarding  are  ample  and  pleasant,  and  the  expense  moderate.  I  shall 
be  glad  to  hear  from  all  who  are  planning  to  come.  May  I  not  ask 
Christian  people  to  begin  now  to  pray  for  a  special  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  upon  every  meeting  of  the  Conference? 

"  Yours  in  the  Master's  service, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

In  response  to  this  invitation  the  largest  gathering  ever  held  at 
Northfield  met  during  the  first  three  weeks  of  August.  The  Pres- 


NortMeld  Conferences  375 

bytery  of  New  York  engaged  Weston  Hall,  and  sixty  of  its  pastors 
and  members  were  entertained  there,  several  accompanied  by  their 
wives.  Three  or  four  of  the  leading  pastors  of  the  city  were  among 
the  speakers  at  the  Auditorium  and  on  Round  Top. 

During  the  last  August  Conference  Mr.  Moody  started  a  new  work 
in  establishing  a  week's  Conference  for  young  people,  in  which  he 
had  the  hearty  cooperation  of  John  Willis  Baer,  of  the  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor.  This  gathering  aimed  to  reach  young  people 
in  the  churches,  and  by  informal  conference  advise  the  best  methods 
of  work. 

In  another  chapter  we  have  alluded  to  the  development  of  the  Stu- 
dents' Conference.  The  marked  results  of  this  gathering,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  August  Conference,  led  the  officers  of  the  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  to  institute  a  Conference  for  young  women  on 
lines  similar  to  that  for  young  men.  This  met  for  the  first  time  in 
1893,  and  has  steadily  increased  in  attendance  and  influence  with  suc- 
ceeding years.  The  leading  women's  colleges  are  represented  at  this 
gathering  by  large  delegations,  as  well  as  many  of  the  leading  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations. 

A  new  feature  was  introduced  in  1899,  which  gave  Mr.  Moody  great 
encouragement  and  suggested  a  new  phase  of  Northfield  work.  The 
Lowell  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  had  sent  a  large  dele- 
gation to  the  Conferences,  and  in  the  winter  of  1898-99  it  was  pro- 
posed by  the  secretary,  Miss  Louise  Pierson,  to  erect  a  house  where 
twenty-five  or  thirty  young  women  could  live  at  a  slight  expense  and 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  Northfield.  Between  the  Seminary  and  the 
Northfield  Hotel,  accordingly,  "  Lowell  Lodge  "  was  erected,  and 
opened  on  August  15,  1899.  Twenty-five  self-supporting  young 
women  occupied  this  building  during  the  Bible  Conference.  Some 
of  them  boarded  themselves,  paying  a  dollar  a  week  for  lodging,  but 
the  majority  had  their  meals  at  the  Lodge,  which  cost  two  or  three 
dollars  additional.  In  his  address  at  the  dedication,  Mr.  Moody  said : 

"  I  am  more  than  pleased  with  what  has  been  accomplished  here. 


376  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

We  give  the  land  very  gladly  because  we  believe  it  is  going  to  open 
up  a  new  plan,  which  I  hope  will  be  a  great  blessing  not  only  to  the 
town  of  Northfield,  but  to  the  country.  If  people  see  that  such  a 
house  can  be  put  up  for  $1,000,  some  of  them  will  duplicate  this  one. 
We  will  furnish  the  land  for  nothing.  If  girls  come  here  from 
Lowell  and  get  stirred  up  by  God's  Spirit  so  that  they  go  back  and 
carry  a  blessing  to  others,  we  shall  be  a  thousand  times  repaid  for  the 
little  paltry  land  that  we  give.  We  don't  want  a  city  in  Northfield ; 
we  want  to  spread  out.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  whole  mountain- 
side should  not  be  built  up. 

"  The  greatest  trouble  we  have  is  to  entertain  the  people  who  come 
here.  You  can  imagine  that  to  have  twelve  hundred  extra  people  in 
a  little  town  like  this,  as  we  have  had  for  the  last  few  days,  makes 
somebody  work.  Now,  if  people  will  undertake  to  put  up  houses 
where  they  can  board  themselves  it  will  be  a  great  relief.  In  that  way 
they  can  get  a  room  and  live  on  bread  and  milk  and  blueberries,  for 
about  two  dollars  a  week.  We  don't  ask  them  to  come  here  to  pam- 
per the  body,  but  to  feed  the  soul. 

"  I  believe  the  blessing  of  God  is  going  to  rest  upon  this  building 
and  those  who  come  here.  I  think  Northfield  is  just  about  as  near 
Paradise  as  we  can  get  on  earth." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 
VISIT  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND 

AS  early  as  January,  1887,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  McKinnon,  of 
Scotland,  urged  Mr.  Moody  to  accompany  them  to  Palestine. 
That  the  invitation  touched  a  very  sympathetic  chord  is  evi- 
dent from  the  response  called  forth : 

"  MY  DEAR  MRS.  MCKINNON  : 

"  Yours  of  January  loth  came  to-day.  I  could  hardly  keep  back  the 
tears  as  I  thought  of  going  to  Calvary,  Gethsemane,  and  the  Mount  of 
Olives  with  you.  My  heart  is  with  you,  and  I  cannot  tell  you  what  a 
self-denial  it  is  to  me  not  to  go.  For  years  I  have  wanted  to  do  so,  and 
though  I  have  never  left  my  work  for  pleasure  in  my  life,  I  think  I 
should  have  gone  this  time  if  I  had  not  been  as  I  am.  For  three  years 
they  have  been  trying  to  get  me  to  go  to  Chicago,  and  I  told  them 
that  if  they  would  do  certain  things  I  would  give  them  three  months. 
They  have  done  what  I  asked  them  to  do,  and  so  I  must  stay  here 
now  until  April  or  May.  I  do  long  to  take  a  trip,  and  would  like  to 
go  with  you  and  your  husband  more  than  with  any  one  else;  but  I 
must  decline  for  another  thing :  Miss  Holton  *  is  dying,  and  I  would 
go  to  her  if  I  could  get  away.  She  is  in  California,  and  the  letter  that 
came  last  night  says  she  will  not  live  thirty  days — and  I  cannot  go  to 
her !  Poor  Fannie,  how  sad  it  is  for  her  to  lay  down  her  work  and 

*  A  cousin  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  his  household,  Miss  Holton  was  one 
of  Mr.  Moody's  most  efficient  helpers  in  the  establishing  of  Northfield  Seminary. 


378  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

die!  But  I  am  glad  she  is  ready,  and  is  not  dreading  death  as  she 
once  was.  The  sting  is  all  gone,  but  it  is  so  hard  to  die  away  from  her 
sisters. 

"  Remember  me  to  all  old  friends;  think  of  me  and  pray  for  me  in 
the  Garden  and  on  Olivet  and  at  Calvary,  and  take  one  good  look 
when  in  Bethany  and  see  if  you  can  see  the  place  where  the  Master 
was  once  seen,  and  ask  Him  to  come  back  again. 

"  Thanking  you  again  for  your  great  kindness, 

"  Yours  as  ever, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

In  February,  1892,  the  generous  and  cordial  invitation  was  re- 
peated. Mr.  Moody  was  then  engaged  in  Scotland,  and  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  leave  his  work.  This  was  his  response : 

"  PAISLEY,  SCOTLAND,  February  10,  1892. 
"  MY  DEAR  MRS.  McKiNNON : 

"  I  would  be  glad  to  go  to  Palestine,  but  there  are  some  reasons 
that  will  keep  me.  First,  the  work.  It  would  be  a  pity  to  leave  it 
now,  and  I  am  committed  until  the  ist  of  April.  Second,  in  April, 
when  it  grows  warmer,  I  come  down  with  headache  and  suffer  a  good 
deal  unless  I  keep  where  it  is  cool.  Third,  my  wife  says  that  Pales- 
tine is  said  to  be  unhealthy,  and  no  one  can  go  there  in  the  spring. 
So  I  think,  if  ever  I  see  the  land  of  Abraham  and  his  children,  I  shall 
have  to  see  it  when  I  go  in  another  body,  and  it  may  be  I  will  see 
it  with  Christ  Himself.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  glad  I  am  your  hus- 
band is  better.  Tell  him  I  pray  for  him  daily,  and  trust  it  will  be  the 
will  of  God  to  lift  him  up  again.  I  did  not  know  I  loved  him  so  much 
until  I  heard  he  was  so  sick. 

"  Mr.  Sankey  has  gone  up  to  London  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Mr. 
Spurgeon;  they  wanted  me  to  go,  but  I  could  not  get  away.  The 
churches,  halls,  etc.,  were  all  engaged  and  this  kept  me;  I  am  thank- 
ful to  tell  you  the  work  is  good  here,  and  I  have  much  to  encourage 


Visit  to  the  Holy  Land  379 

me,  yet  I  get  homesick  at  times  and  long  to  see  my  family.     May  the 
blessing  of  God  rest  on  you  and  your  dear  husband  is  the  prayer  of 

"  Your  true  friend, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

A  man  of  such  energetic  spirit  as  Mr.  Moody  found  very  little 
opportunity  for  holidays.  He  sacredly  tried  to  observe  one  day  in 
seven  as  a  rest-day,  but  otherwise  he  was  almost  constantly  occupied 
except  when  journeying — and  even  then  people  recognized  him  and 
sought  his  spiritual  advice,  and  were  not  denied.  Of  late  years,  with 
the  multiplication  of  his  schools,  conferences,  and  other  organizations 
for  promoting  the  cause  of  Christ,  there  was  less  and  less  opportunity 
for  withdrawing  for  any  length  of  time  from  active  participation  in 
their  control. 

Still  anxious  to  carry  out  their  plan,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinnon 
deferred  their  trip  until  April,  and  finally  prevailed  on  Mr.  Moody  to 
accompany  them. 

Taking  his  wife  and  his  son  Paul,  he  went  from  Paris  to  Rome, 
where  he  was  to  join  Mr.  McKinnon's  party.  His  interest  in  every- 
thing about  him  was  intense,  and,  as  usual,  it  centred  particularly  in 
the  people  and  their  methods  of  life. 

The  farming  on  the  hillsides  specially  attracted  his  attention ;  to  see 
men  living  in  their  little  houses  perched  like  crows  in  a  nest  on  the 
edge  of  the  snow  line,  reclaiming  patches  of  land,  some  of  them 
hardly  twenty  feet  square,  excited  his  wonder.  He  would  frequently 
say :  "  Look  here !  See  that  hillside  farming !  That  beats  all  I  ever 
saw.  If  ever  I  hear  a  Northfield  man  complaining  of  his  farm  again, 
I'll  fall  on  him."  This  reference  to  his  size  caused  much  merriment. 

On  their  arrival  at  Rome,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKinnon  joined  the 
party,  and  after  breakfast  they  made  a  tour  of  the  city  with  a  guide. 
Mr.  Moody  was  unusually  silent  when  going  through  the  beautiful 
churches,  speaking  only  occasionally.  The  Coliseum  proved  a  great 
attraction.  He  sat  on  a  huge  column  that  was  lying  on  the  ground 


380  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

and  surveyed  the  amphitheatre,  calling  up  the  various  historical  ac- 
counts of  the  scenes  of  murder,  cruelty,  and  martyrdom  enacted  there. 

A  stalwart  peasant  passed  by  one  of  the  corridors,  and  Mr.  Moody 
stopped  him. 

"  Tell  him  he  is  a  fine,  powerful  man,"  he  said  to  Ortini,  the  guide. 
Ortini  did  so.  The  peasant  beamed  on  all  the  party  and  spoke  rapidly 
in  Italian. 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Moody. 

"  He  said  he  was  heavier,  but  he  is  losing  flesh.  He  was  too  poor 
to  drink  wine.  If  he  had  wine  he  would  look  sleek  like  you." 

"  Tell  him  I  am  a  teetotaler,"  said  Mr.  Moody.  Ortini  did  so. 
The  man  smiled  incredulously,  as  if  such  a  thing  were  impossible. 

"  Tell  him  it  is  true,"  said  Mr.  Moody. 

The  man,  still  laughing,  said,  producing  a  loaf  from  beneath  his 
coat,  "  You  may  be  a  teetotaler  in  drink,  but  you  are  no  teetotaler  in 
eating." 

The  peasant  said  he  had  only  two  francs  a  day  for  his  family  of 
seven  children.  Mr.  Moody  advised  him  to  go  to  America,  and  then 
gave  him  a  two-franc  piece.  As  the  party  passed  on,  the  man  called 
to  the  guide,  and  ran  back,  holding  out  the  piece  of  money. 

"  What  is  the  matter?  "  said  Mr.  Moody. 

"  He  says  it  is  the  Pope's  money  and  is  not  good  in  Rome.  Will 
you  give  him  another  piece?  " 

Mr.  Moody  could  hardly  realize  that  the  Pope's  silver  was  not 
good  in  Rome,  but  exchanged  the  piece  of  money  for  another. 

He  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  places  of  historical  interest.  Any- 
thing that  had  a  touch  of  Paul's  life  in  it  moved  him  deeply.  Every 
place  that  could  be  verified  as  being  in  any  way  connected  with  Mr. 
Moody's  greatest  Bible  hero  was  carefully  sought  out.  The  Rev.  J. 
Gordon  Gray  took  him  out  to  the  Appian  Way,  and  when  the  original 
pavement  was  reached,  Moody  insisted  on  alighting  from  the  carriage 
and  going  on  foot  over  the  stones  which  St.  Paul  had  trodden  as  he 
entered  Rome.  The  ruins  of  Nero's  palace  on  the  Palatine  Hill  had 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  JERUSALEM  FIND  MR.   MOODY  A  GENEROUS  DISTRIBUTER 
OE  "  BACKSHEESH." 


WITH  DAUGHTER  AND  GRANDDAUGHTER. 


Visit  to  the  Holy  Land  383 

far  more  attraction  for  him  than  St.  Peter's  or  any  of  the  spectacles  of 
modern  Rome.  He  seemed  to  take  great  delight  in  the  many  monu- 
ments which  Rome  had  erected  to  Paul,  saying  that  the  emperors  who 
tyrannized  the  earth  were  remembered  only  by  ruins. 

When  he  visited  St.  Peter's  he  spoke  of  the  sad  degeneration  of  the 
communion  service  from  the  pure  faith  of  the  early  church. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Moody  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
of  which  Dr.  Gray  was  pastor.  About  one  hundred  and  thirty  people 
were  present.  The  sermon  delivered  was  the  one  that  he  gave  on  the 
last  afternoon  in  Kansas  City,  on  "  Grace,"  from  the  text :  "  The  grace 
of  God  that  bringeth  salvation"  etc. 

Friday,  April  8th,  the  party  started  for  Naples,  and  sailed  from 
there  for  Port  Said,  which  was  reached  four  days  later.  Writing  from 
Port  Said,  Mr.  Moody  said: 

"  We  are  now  near  where  the  children  of  Israel  passed  when  they 
went  out  of  Egypt.  The  country  is  sandy  and  barren,  but  the  canal 
is  a  wonder,  and  it  seems  strange  to  be  in  this  land  of  the  Pharaohs, 
of  Moses  and  Aaron  and  Joseph." 

After  coaling  the  steamer  at  Port  Said  they  sailed  on  the  Suez 
Canal  to  Ismailia.  Little  sleep  was  taken  that  night.  About  mid- 
night they  passed  the  old  Syrian  Road  at  Candara,  where  the  ancient 
Jews  and  others  travelled  from  Europe  and  Asia  into  Egypt,  where, 
no  doubt,  Joseph  was  taken  by  the  caravan.  At  Ismailia  a  train  was 
taken  to  Alexandria  through  the  land  of  Goshen,  full  of  interest  to 
every  Bible  student.  Mr.  Moody's  thirst  for  information  was  satis- 
fied here,  as  elsewhere,  by  an  early  morning  ride  with  a  guide  before 
the  rest  of  the  party  were  up.  At  Alexandria  a  boat  was  taken  for 
Joppa. 

The  Holy  Land  was  sighted  on  Good  Friday.  The  landing  at 
Joppa  was  not  made  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  about  four 
o'clock  the  start  was  made  for  Jerusalem.  Supper  was  eaten  at 
Ramleh.  Mr.  Moody  finished  before  the  rest,  and  said  he  would  go 
out  into  the  air.  When  the  party  was  ready  to  start  he  was  np where 


384  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

to  be  seen,  and  calling  failed  to  reach  him.  The  carriages  were  en- 
tered, and  after  a  while  he  was  overtaken.  He  had  informed  the 
guide  that  he  was  going  on  before,  but  was  now  beginning  to  be 
frightened,  as  he  had  seen  several  dark-looking  Arabs  scowling  as 
they  passed  and  spitting  at  him,  and  he  thought  it  wiser  to  take  the 
carriage. 

The  moon  rose  brightly  over  the  mountains  as  the  carriages  drove 
on.  About  one  o'clock  a  cup  of  coffee  was  served  at  Colonieh.  Ac- 
tive signs  of  life  were  seen  along  the  road.  Caravans  with  camels 
heavily  laden  passed  many  times.  Jerusalem  was  reached  at  three 
o'clock  Saturday  morning,  and  after  a  few  hours'  rest  a  walk  was 
taken  about  the  city,  out  to  the  tomb  of  David,  alongside  of  which 
was  a  little  house,  where,  in  an  upper  chamber,  it  is  said  that  the 
Master  ate  the  last  supper.  Mr.  Moody  was  incredulous  on  all  the 
traditional  sights  seen  in  Jerusalem  except  the  Temple  and  Calvary. 
He  said  that  most  of  the  localities  were  obscure,  "  but  the  hills  you 
cannot  change  nor  remove." 

Mr.  George  D.  Mackay,  of  New  York,  who  joined  the  party  on  the 
trip,  says  of  this  first  day  in  the  Holy  City : 

"  Our  walk  around  Zion  Hill  finished  at  the  Joppa  Gate.  Just  be- 
fore reaching  it  we  saw  a  group  of  lepers.  The  sight  was  pitiful  in 
the  extreme.  The  thought  of  contamination  was  uppermost,  and  we 
hurried  by,  anxious  to  pass  such  misery.  In  the  afternoon,  Paul, 
Donald  [Mr.  Mackay's  son],  and  I  got  donkeys  and  rode  to  the  top 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  On  the  way  we  passed  Calvary." 

Mr.  Moody  took  his  Bible  early  Easter  morning  and  went  to  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  In  the  afternoon  he  preached  to  a  large  audience 
on  Calvary  under  the  auspices  of  the  English  Church  Missionary 
Society.  At  least  three  hundred  people  were  present,  largely  native 
and  visiting  Christians.  Some  Mussulmans  and  Jews  came  to  listen, 
attracted  by  the  crowd.  Mr.  Moody  was  in  excellent  spirits  and 
preached  with  an  emotion  that  he  had  rarely,  if  ever,  equalled  in  any 
previous  sermon.  He  hardly  chose  a  text,  beginning  by  saying  that 


Visit  to  the  Holy  Land  385 

he  had  preached  for  thirty  years,  but  had  never  felt  the  awe  of  God 
that  he  did  at  that  moment. 

He  pointed  out  the  various  spots  in  sight  and  linked  them  with 
their  stories  in  the  Bible — Mizpah  and  Samuel,  Moriah  and  Abraham, 
the  distant  hills  of  Moab  and  Ruth,  Olivet  and  Jesus.  He  likened  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac  to  the  coming  offering  up  of  Jesus,  and  spoke  of 
how  Jesus  must  have  felt  as  He  passed  this  hill  in  boyhood,  know- 
ing that  there  He  should  offer  up  His  life.  He  spoke  of  the  feasts  that 
Jesus  had  attended  on  yonder  temple  site,  and  how  the  burden  of  His 
preaching  at  each  one  was  the  new  birth  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit; 
and  closed,  after  saying  that  the  greatest  blessing  of  his  life  had  been 
the  birth  in  the  Spirit,  by  an  appeal  to  every  Christian  person  to  seek 
God  until  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  should  be  as  fire  in  their  hearts, 
like  that  called  down  by  Elijah  on  the  altar  of  Carmel. 

The  sermon  was  preached  with  a  fervor  beyond  description,  and 
left  an  ineffaceable  impression  on  all  who  heard  it.  A  collection  was 
taken  at  the  conclusion  for  the  London  Jews'  Society  School,  whose 
scholars,  in  number  about  eighty  boys  and  girls,  attended  the 
meeting. 

The  weekdays  were  spent  in  visiting  places  of  interest  in  Jerusalem 
and  the  immediate  vicinity.  One  day  was  devoted  to  Hebron.  In 
Jerusalem  all  the  sacred  spots,  like  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  were  too  un- 
certain, or  else  too  transformed  by  tawdriness,  to  please  him. 

On  Monday  the  party  went  to  Bethlehem  and  Solomon's  pools.  At 
Bethlehem  they  drank  at  the  well  so  dearly  loved  by  David,  and  pho- 
tographed a  group  of  Arabs  at  the  curb.  There  they  saw  the  hills 
where,  no  doubt,  David  tended  his  flocks  and  wrote  many  of  the 
psalms,  and  also  the  field  of  Boaz  and  the  shepherd's  field.  Later 
they  visited  the  Church  of  the  Nativity. 

Mr.  Moody's  favorite  places  were  the  Mount  of  Olives,  to  which 
he  repeatedly  returned,  and  the  little  village  of  Bethany,  over  the 
brow  of  the  hill.  Here,  at  any  rate,  he  knew  he  was  in  the  midst  of 
scenes  where  the  Master  had  often  walked. 


386  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

When  he  went  to  Bethany  with  Mrs.  Moody,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Kinnon,  and  Miss  Love,  their  arrival  was  celebrated  as  usual — a 
horde  of  children  were  sent  as  a  general  reception  committee,  to  ex- 
tract from  the  visitors  what  "  backsheesh  "  they  could  in  the  way  of 
silver,  copper,  lead,  and  zinc,  which  the  coin  of  the  Turkish  realm  fur- 
nishes in  such  infinite  and  deceptive  variety.  Some  pretended  blind- 
ness or  deafness  to  work  on  the  visitors'  pity;  others  carried  babies, 
whose  little  chubby  hands  were  hardly  big  enough  to  clutch  the  coin 
they  held  them  out  for.  They  immediately  surrounded  Mr.  Moody. 
He  was  always  generous;  on  this  occasion  especially  so,  because  of 
the  unusual  nature  of  the  place  and  its  beautiful  traditions.  He  asked 
if  any  of  them  had  the  name  of  Mary  or  Martha,  and  was  agreeably 
surprised  to  learn  that  a  number  of  them  had.  This  opened  his 
pockets  again.  The  news  of  his  generosity  rapidly  spread  through 
the  village,  and  new  faces  and  hands  were  quickly  added  to  the 
crowd;  all  surging  around  him  in  frantic  efforts  to  get  the  lion's  share 
of  the  spoils.  He  was  besieged.  They  swarmed  on  every  side. 
"  Backsheesh !  "  (gift  money)  "  Backsheesh !  "  they  cried.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  move.  The  visit  to  Bethany  was  rapidly  converting  itself 
into  a  fight  for  existence.  The  case  was  getting  desperate,  so  he  called 
a  truce.  He  told  the  dragoman  to  ask  them  to  be  quiet  while  he 
made  an  address.  He  did  so.  Then  Mr.  Moody  talked,  and  the 
dragoman  interpreted.  He  said  in  substance : 

"  I  have  come  six  thousand  miles  to  see  this  little  village  of  Bethany. 
It  was  a  place  my  Master  loved  to  visit,  and  I  have  come  to  see  it 
because  He  loved  it.  I  am  very  glad  to  meet  you  all,  and  I  hope 
you  will  grow  up  to  be  good  men  and  good  women.  Now  I  want 
to  be  alone;  I  have  no  more  '  backsheesh/  and  I  bid  you  all  good- 
bye!" 

A  fine-looking  young  boy,  about  sixteen  years  old,  said  he  wanted 
to  reply  to  the  address.  He  spoke  fluently,  and  with  the  grace  of  an 
orator.  He  said :  * 

"  We  are  glad  to  see  the  gentleman  and  his  friends  who  have  come 


MR.  MOODY'S  NORTHFIELD  HOME. 


DIIOG-ROOM  IN  MR.  MOODY'S  HOME. 


MR.  MOODY  HAILING  A  FRIEND. 

A  snap  shot. 


MR.   MOODY  AS  HIS  TOWNSFOLK  KNEW  HIM. 


Visit  to  the  Holy  Land  389 

so  far.  But  the  gentleman  must  not  think  that  his  actions  are  equal 
to  the  importance  of  his  visit.  Six  thousand  miles  is  a  long  way  to 
come,  and  tke  gentleman  must  have  sacrificed  much  to  make  the  visit. 
In  consequence  it  is  natural  for  us  to  expect  that  he  would  be  munifi- 
cent in  his  gifts  of '  backsheesh,'  which  he  has  not  been,  and  we  expect 
that  he  will  now  give  a  great  deal  more !  " 

Mr.  Moody,  who  had  regarded  with  surprise  and  delight  the  elo- 
quence and  grace  of  the  boy,  was  so  disgusted  at  the  conclusion  that 
he  took  flight. 

"  I  did  think  that  boy  had  a  soul  above  '  backsheesh,'  "  he  said. 

Some  one  casually  asked  Mr.  Moody  whether  he  thought  any  of 
those  children  was  named  Mary  or  Martha. 

"  Certainly.     Why  not  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  only  they  were  all  boys." 

Mr.  Mackay  thus  describes  the  visit  to  the  Mosque  of  Omar: 

"  In  the  mosque  we  all  wore  felt  slippers,  which  they  tied  on  over 
our  shoes.  Mr.  McKinnon  carried  a  pair  of  slippers  and  put  them 
on.  This  is  necessary,  as  no  heathen  foot  must  touch  the  sacred 
floor.  Somehow  Paul  Moody's  slippers  came  off,  and,  to  our  con- 
sternation, he  was  discovered  by  one  of  the  mosque  officers  to  be 
tramping  about  with  his  infidel  foot  bared  to  the  sole  of  his  shoe.  The 
•scene  that  followed  was  enough  to  terrify  him.  The  air  was  full  of 
Arabic  indignation.  There  were  a  rushing  and  a  scolding  and  a  wild 
excitement  that  were  growing  decidedly  distressing. 

"  Paul  stood  holding  his  foot  up  so  that  he  would  not  further  con- 
taminate the  floor.  His  mother,  pale  and  nervous,  was  assisting  him, 
and  looking  as  if  she  would  give  anything  to  get  out  alive.  Arabs 
began  to  assemble  and  jabber  ferociously.  Meanwhile  some  wise  at- 
tendant had  got  a  new  pair  of  slippers,  and  when  Paul  was  reshod 
we  began  to  breathe  freely,  especially  as  we  saw  the  Arabs  were  grow- 
ing calmer  and  apparently  were  going  to  work  no  vengeance.  My 
own  shoe  was  appearing  through  the  wearing  felt,  and  I  began  to  feel 
squeamish  myself  when  I  thought  that  the  exposure  of  »ne-half  the 
22 


39o  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

sole  of  my  shoe,  which  was  visible  every  step  I  took,  might  repeat 
the  scene  we  had  just  gone  through." 

One  morning  at  five  o'clock,  in  company  with  Mr.  Mackay,  Mr. 
Moody  went  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  It  rained,  and  as  they  ascended, 
a  beautiful  rainbow  spanned  the  city,  its  base  resting  on  the  Temple 
court  at  one  end  and  just  beyond  the  Gate  of  Herod  at  the  other.  It 
looked  like  a  rainbow  of  promise  of  the  glory  to  come  at  Jerusalem. 
Mr.  Moody  was  surprised  when  they  reached  the  crest  of  the  moun- 
tain, as  he  had  not  expected  to  see  such  a  glorious  view  of  the  hills 
of  Judea,  the  Dead  Sea,  and  the  Jordan  Valley.  He  was  greatly  de- 
lighted. Their  special  quest  was  the  Mount  of  Ascension,  as  neither 
was  satisfied  with  the  spot  shown.  On  the  Bethany  spur  of  the 
mountain  the  two  travellers  read  again  the  story  of  Lazarus  and  the 
ascension  of  Jesus.  Together  they  prayed,  Mr.  Moody  pleading  with 
the  Lord  to  come  again  quickly  and  to  sanctify  their  visit  to  that 
spot  by  their  growth  in  grace.  He  was  deeply  moved,  and  prayed 
most  fervently.  It  was  fully  eleven  o'clock  when  they  returned,  hav- 
ing been  nearly  five  hours  on  the  mountain.  In  the  afternoon  they 
went  to  the  Jews'  Wailing  Place  and  the  Pool  of  Siloam. 

When  it  rained  Mr.  Moody  sent  for  two  members  of  the  London 
Jews'  Society,  who  called  at  the  hotel,  and  for  two  hours  he  and  the 
rest  of  the  party  who  wished  to  do  so  plied  them  with  questions  about 
the  interesting  points  in  Jerusalem. 

Once,  seeing  some  poppies  on  the  east  Temple  wall,  he  said,  "Look 
there !  Drops  of  blood,  a  symbol  of  the  blood  shed  for  sin  !  It  seems 
as  though  the  ground  itself  is  testifying  for  Christ  against  the  unbelief 
of  the  city." 

The  native  children  in  Jerusalem  amused  him  greatly  >  On  his  exit 
from  the  hotel  he  would  invariably  be  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
ragged  little  Arabs,  and  entertain  himself  by  giving  them  backsheesh. 
The  older  natives  interested  him  also,  and  he  conversed  with  them 
constantly,  questioning  them  as  to  their  habits.  By  the  end  of  the 
week  he  was  well  informed  as  to  the  manner  of  life  of  the  people,  the 


Visit  to  the  Holy  Land  391 

condition  of  agriculture,  the  system  of  government,  and  a  dozen 
other  things. 

On  his  second  Sunday  in  Jerusalem  Mr.  Moody  was  up  at  four 
o'clock  to  see  the  sun  rise  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  wanted  to  see 
the  sun  come  up  beyond  the  hills  of  Moab.  His  visit  was  successful, 
and  he  joined  his  party  at  breakfast  much  pleased.  He  said  that  he 
had  seen  the  sun  rise  and  that  as  he  looked  over  this  land  of  promise, 
in  his  imagination  he  saw  Moses'  face,  surrounded  by  the  sun  as  a 
halo.  He  was  in  ecstasies  over  the  beautiful  eastern  view  from  the 
Mount  of  Olives — the  Valley  of  the  Jordan,  the  Dead  Sea,  the  hills 
of  Moab,  all  seeming  only  five  miles  away,  although  more  than 
twenty.  In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Moody  preached  beneath  Calvary  on 
the  west.  There  was  a  rumor  that  the  government  had  forbidden  any 
Turkish  subject  to  attend  the  meeting  at  Calvary  under  pain  of  ar- 
rest, but  there  was  no  truth  in  it.  The  Mohammedans  had  criticised 
Mr.  Moody's  preaching  from  a  tombstone  in  their  cemetery  the  pre- 
vious Sunday.  Mr.  Moody  said : 

"  I  don't  blame  them.  I  wouldn't  want  any  man  to  stand  on  my 
father's  grave  to  preach  a  sermon."  The  truth  was  that  the  ceme- 
tery on  Calvary  was  such  a  dilapidated  affair  that  the  visitors  took  it 
for  a  deserted  cemetery,  as,  indeed,  it  was. 

Mr.  Moody  preached  on  "  The  Good  Samaritan  "  to  an  audience 
about  as  large  as  that  of  Easter  Day.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he 
announced  that  on  the  previous  Sunday  the  collection  was  twenty 
pounds,  although  he  had  only  asked  for  ten.  He  now  wanted  ten 
pounds  more  for  a  blind  boy  to  go  into  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety's School  for  a  year.  The  hat  was  passed,  and  again  twenty 
pounds  was  raised. 

On  Monday  morning  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moody  and  Paul  went  again  to 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  at  noon  they  started  for  Joppa.  "  Thus  ends 
my  three  weeks  with  Mr.  Moody,"  wrote  Mr.  Mackay.  "  It  has  been 
a  blessed  experience  for  me." 

Mr.  McKinnon's  party  then  returned  to  Egypt,    Several  days  were 


39 2  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

spent  in  Cairo,  visiting  the  Pyramids  and  other  points  of  interest,  and 
in  the  first  week  of  May  the  party  started  for  Italy.  May  was  spent 
in  Naples  and  Florence,  the  Italian  lakes  and  Switzerland,  and  by  the 
end  of  the  month  Mr.  Moody  was  again  in  England,  having  been 
absent  for  two  months,  probably  the  longest  vacation  he  had  ever 
taken  since  he  had  entered  business  as  a  boy  of  seventeen.  It  was 
not  an  unbroken  rest,  however,  for  he  had  preached  in  Rome,  Jerusa- 
lem, Cairo,  Naples,  and  Paris,  sometimes  twice  a  day,  besides  con- 
ducting numerous  Bible  readings,  to  gratify  the  importunities  of  Eng- 
lish and  American  friends,  who  recognized  him  wherever  he  went. 
Moreover,  he  used  to  lead  the  most  unlikely  people  on  the  most  un- 
likely occasions  into  direct  personal  talk  regarding  their  spiritual 
condition. 

"  Mr.  Moody,"  said  a  lady  of  rank,  "  no  one  ever  talked  to  me  like 
this  before." 

"  Then  it  was  quite  time  somebody  did  so,"  he  replied,  and  they 
remained  good  friends  thereafter. 

His  visit  to  the  Holy  Land  remained  a  vivid,  living  memory.  He 
constantly  referred  to  it  in  private  conversation  and  public  discourse, 
regretting  on  the  one  hand  the  present  mean  condition  of  Palestine, 
which,  however,  he  believed  was  in  accord  with  prophecy,  and  on  the 
other  looking  forward  with  joy  to  its  restoration,  when  the  feet  of  the 
Messiah  shall  once  more  stand  on  Olivet. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 
CAPACITY  FOR  WORK 

TO  those  who  knew  Mr.  Moody  closely  it  was  not  difficult  to 
understand  the  secret  of  his  capacity  for  hard  work.  The 
magnificent  constitution  with  which  he  was  endowed  enabled 
him  to  undertake  work  that  demanded  continued  exertion  and  special 
effort.  But,  beyond  this,  he  was  able  to  throw  off  all  burden  of  mind 
when  he  had  done  his  utmost.  "  It's  worry  that  kills,"  he  would  say, 
and  after  the  most  exacting  work  he  would  be  able  to  relieve  his  mind 
of  all  anxiety  and  rest  as  quietly  as  a  child.  He  believed  that  God 
would  carry  on  His  own  work,  and  after  doing  all  in  his  power  he 
would  cast  his  burden  on  the  Lord.  Thus  it  happened  that  lie  could 
sleep  almost  "  to  order."  A  few  minutes  before  going  to  address  a 
large  audience  he  would  lie  down  for  a  nap,  asking  some  one  to  waken 
him  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  Added  to  this  was  his  genius  of  gen- 
eralship, by  which  he  would  delegate  to  others  the  work  they  could 
do,  and  thus  spare  himself  the  trouble  of  details. 

Mr.  Moody's  evangelistic  zeal  could  never  be  contented  with  mis- 
sions in  Great  Britain  and  America.  Reports  of  the  great  opportuni- 
ties among  English-speaking  people  in  other  countries  were  always 
a  great  inducement  to  accept  frequent  invitations  to  visit  the  great 
centres  of  Eastern  life.  It  had  been  a  long-cherished  plan  of  his  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  world,  and  in  the  fall  of  1888  Mr.  Moody  left 
home  with  the  purpose  of  going  to  Japan  and  China  and  thence  to 
India.  Arriving  on  the  Pacific  coast,  he  found  it  impossible  to  obtain 
release  from  a  tentative  acceptance  of  several  invitations  to  conduct 


394  The  Life  of  Dwight  L,  Moody 

meetings.  At  this  time,  therefore,  he  was  unable  to  take  the  journey, 
and  during  the  winter  he  visited,  instead,  the  cities  of  the  Pacific  coast 
from  Vancouver  to  San  Diego.  He  continued  to  receive  repeated 
invitations  to  visit  India  and  China,  and  in  the  fall  of  1891  he  again 
contemplated  the  trip.  But  again  it  was  abandoned,  this  time  after 
arriving  in  London,  where  he  was  advised  by  medical  men  of  the 
danger  of  such  a  climate  to  a  man  of  his  age  and  susceptibility  to 
heat  exhaustion.  The  fact  that  he  suffered  from  seasickness  made 
the  voyages  in  tropical  climates  still  more  objectionable.  This  was 
a  great  disappointment,  yet  at  this  time  he  entered  upon  a  work  in 
Great  Britain  that  for  sheer  physical  endurance  must  have  taxed 
his  strength  more  than  any  other  mission  he  ever  undertook,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  the  World's  Fair  Campaign.  A  few  months 
before  his  leaving  home,  at  the  time  of  the  Christian  Conference, 
the  Rev.  John  Smith  and  Dr.  Moxey,  of  Edinburgh,  came  to  North- 
field.  At  one  session  of  the  conference  Mr.  Smith  stepped  to  the 
front  of  the  platform  with  a  large  bundle  in  his  hands,  which,  he 
proceeded  to  explain,  was  a  memorial  to  Mr.  Moody  from  fifty  towns 
and  cities  of  Scotland,  requesting  him  to  make  another  evangelistic 
tour  in  that  country.  In  presenting  the  petition  to  Mr.  Moody,  in 
behalf  of  Dr.  Moxey  and  himself,  he  said  that  it  was  the  most  remark- 
able memorial  ever  presented  to  a  Christian  worker,  at  least  from 
Scotland.  It  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  and  contained 
twenty-five  hundred  signatures  on  its  roll,  which  was  nearly  a  foot 
thick,  including  representatives  from  all  the  Scotch  churches  and 
schools  of  thought. 

Mr.  Smith  spoke  briefly  of  the  special  need  of  Mr.  Moody's  work 
in  Scotland,  saying  that  the  evangelist  had  the  confidence  of  the 
churches  as  no  other  man  had,  and  that  he  would  bring  to  many 
evangelists  a  blessing  which  no  other  man  could. 

Mr.  Moody  received  the  package  without  a  word,  put  it  into  the 
speaker's  desk  in  front  of  him,  and  asked  the  people  to  engage  in 
silent  prayer  "  that  we  may  be  directed  in  regard  to  these  matters." 


Capacity  for  Work  395 

No  further  reference  was  made  to  the  invitation  in  public,  but 
a  decision  was  given  later,  and  the  tour  was  undertaken  that 
fall. 

Arriving  in  Scotland  late  in  November,  he  began  a  series  of  meet- 
ings that  continued  till  the  end  of  March.  An  itinerary  had  been 
arranged  by  his  old  friend,  Mr.  William  Robertson,  of  Carrubber's 
Close  Mission,  Edinburgh,  whom  he  had  given  carte  blanche  to  make 
appointments  for  these  months.  Writing  of  this  four  months'  work, 
Mr.  Robertson  says :  "  I  had  a  list  of  the  towns  drawn  out  that  Mr. 
Moody  visited  in  Scotland  on  his  last  trip.  There  were  one  hundred 
different  places,  and  meetings  were  held  in  them  all."  During  this 
winter  he  averaged  three  meetings  a  day,  often  in  crowded  and  poorly 
ventilated  halls  and  chapels. 

Mr.  Moody  had  many  invitations  to  spend  Christmas  with  Scotch 
friends.  He  preferred,  however,  to  keep  the  day  free  in  order  to  give 
another  day  to  any  special  place  in  which  there  had  been  much  bless- 
ing. *  The  meetings  in  Wick  had  been  exceptionally  fruitful,  and  as 
the  holiday  drew  near  Mr.  Moody  resolved  to  return  once  more  to 
this  town  for  an  evening  meeting.  Relating  the  experience  of  the 
day — a  rather  typical  one  as  showing  his  faculty  for  making  the  most 
of  time — Mr.  Robertson  says :  "  We  started  to  drive  across  the  Ord  to 
Wick,  a  distance  of  thirty-seven  miles.  The  sun  rose  as  we  left 
Helmsdale.  After  a  little  we  got  into  a  gully,  from  which  we  again 
saw  the  sun  rise.  Still  further  on  we  reached  a  spot  where  it  again 
appeared  over  the  hills.  Mr.  Moody  said  it  would  be  a  memorable 
Christmas  day  for  him,  as  he  had  seen  the  sun  rise  three  times.  As 
we  passed  Berriedale,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  we  found 
some  friends  who,  hearing  that  we  were  to  drive  that  way,  had  ar- 
ranged for  a  short  service.  In  fifteen  minutes  two  prayers  were 
offered,  a  psalm  sung,  and  Mr.  Moody  gave  a  brief  Christmas  address. 
At  Leibster  another  halt  was  made,  and  another  crowded  meeting 
addressed  in  the  Free  Church.  Wick  was  reached  soon  after  two, 
a  Bible  reading  held  at  three  o'clock,  and  a  great  mass  meeting  at 


396  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

night.  Early  the  next  morning,  train  was  taken  for  Elgin."  Surely 
this  was  a  full  day's  work  for  a  holiday ! 

It  is  impossible  to  go  over  the  work  in  detail  in  each  place  visited. 
The  Scotch  mission  closed  with  final  meetings  in  Edinburgh.  It  was 
a  noticeable  fact  that  at  the  last  afternoon  meeting  both  the  modera- 
tors-elect of  the  coming  Established  and  Free  Church  Assemblies, 
Professor  Charteris  and  Professor  Blaikie,  were  present,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  the  crowded  platform  had  to  share  between  them  the 
president's  chair.  This  fact  was  taken  as  a  crowning  illustration  of 
the  brotherly  and  thoroughly  unsectarian  spirit  which  marked  the 
mission  in  almost  every  place  where  the  meetings  were  held  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  Scotland. 

Later  in  the  year  the  writer  had  a  personal  experience  of  a  similar 
nature  in  a  six  weeks'  mission  with  Mr.  Moody  in  Ireland.  Con- 
cluding a  short  mission  in  Southampton,  England,  Sunday  night,  Mr. 
Moody  started  for  Dublin,  Ireland,  on  a  train  leaving  after  midnight, 
which  carried  no  sleeping-car.  Arriving  in  London  before  daybreak, 
he  had  to  drive  from  Victoria  Station  to  Euston  Station  to  catch  the 
train  for  Holyhead,  where  a  four  hours'  passage  across  the  Irish 
Channel  completely  prostrated  him  with  seasickness.  Dublin  was 
reached  by  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  where,  after  a  hasty  supper, 
Mr.  Moody  addressed  a  large  meeting.  Here  the  audience  had  been 
waiting  for  some  time,  and  the  atmosphere  was  heavy.  At  the  close 
of  the  meeting  numbers  of  old  friends  pressed  forward  for  a  hand- 
shake and  words  of  welcome,  and  it  was  near  midnight  before  Mr. 
Moody  was  able  to  retire.  He  was  entertained  by  Peter  Drum- 
mond,  who  lived  some  distance  out  of  the  city,  and  he  had  to  take 
leave  of  his  host  early,  drive  into  Dublin,  and  get  the  seven  o'clock 
train  for  Belfast  Tuesday  morning.  It  had  been  arranged  that  he 
should  conduct  a  two  weeks'  mission  in  the  large  convention  hall  in 
Belfast  a  week  later,  and  on  his  arrival  the  committee  of  ministers- and 
laymen  at  whose  invitation  he  had  come,  met  him  for  conference 
regarding  plans,  and  lunched  with  him  at  the  Rev.  Dr.  Williamson's. 


Capacity  for  Work  397 

In  Londonderry  he  had  time  for  only  a  hurried  supper  after  his 
arrival  before  going  to  a  crowded  meeting  that  had  been  awaiting 
him  for  over  an  hour,  and  it  was  late  that  night  before  he  had 
any  opportunity  to  rest.  The  remaining  days  of  the  week  were 
equally  taxing,  as  he  visited  six  other  towns  during  Wednesday, 
Thursday,  and  Friday,  often  speaking  in  crowded  halls  and  twice  in 
the  open  air.  The  very  hospitality  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
Irish  added  to  the  demands  upon  his  strength,  as  in  several  places, 
when  he  felt  the  need  of  rest  and  relaxation,  he  was  entertained  at 
meals  where  others  were  invited  specially  to  meet  him.  Saturday, 
however,  brought  a  much  needed  rest  at  the  home  of  James  White, 
of  Fenaghy,  and  on  the  following  day  he  began  his  Belfast  mission  by 
addressing  ten  thousand  people  in  the  crowded  Convention  Hall. 

The  last  three  weeks  of  his  mission  in  Ireland  were  devoted  to  hold- 
ing meetings  in  the  southern  counties,  where  an  equally  trying  itiner- 
ary was  arranged.  Frequently  the  meetings  were  conducted  in 
draughty  halls,  or  even  in  market-places,  and  the  bigotry  and  super- 
stition of  the  uneducated  masses  in  some  places  threatened  more  than 
once  to  make  trouble.  Never  were  conditions  more  trying  for  him 
than  during  that  season,  and  near  the  close  of  the  mission  he  began 
to  show  the  effects  of  the  strain  under  which  he  had  been  working. 

In  a  few  meetings  that  followed  in  England  a  heavy  cold  that  he 
had  taken  became  more  pronounced,  and  on  arriving  in  London  to 
conduct  a  ten-day  mission  in  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle  his  voice  al- 
most entirely  failed  him.  At  this  time  he  was  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Stebbins  and  his  son,  and,  yielding  to  their  urgent  solicitation,  con- 
sented to  see  a  physician.  It  was  then  that  Mr.  Moody  first  learned 
of  the  heart  difficulty  to  which  he  finally  succumbed.  Writing  of  this 
occasion,  Mr.  Stebbins  says: 

"  The  third  time  that  I  went  abroad  to  assist  Mr.  Moody  was  in 
the  fall  of  1892.  He  had  engagements  to  visit  several  of  the  larger 
cities  of  England,  and  afterward  to  hold  an  eight-day  mission  in 
Spurgeon's  Tabernacle.  He  had  been  suffering  somewhat  for  sev- 


398  The  Lite  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

eral  days  with  a  throat  trouble  which  gave  him  considerable  anxiety 
lest  it  should  interfere  with  his  work,  so  on  our  arrival  in  London, 
with  his  consent,  I  sent  for  Dr.  Habershon,  a  prominent  young  doc- 
tor, afterwards  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  physicians,  who  made  a  careful 
examination  of  his  throat  and  lungs,  and  incidentally  the  action  of 
his  heart.  Before  leaving  us  the  doctor  took  me  aside  and  told  me 
that  he  had  discovered  an  irregularity  in  the  action  of  the  heart,  ask- 
ing me  if  he  should  tell  Mr.  Moody. 

"  '  Certainly,'  I  said ; '  he  would  wish  to  know  of  any  trouble  of  that 
kind.'  He  informed  Mr.  Moody  of  his  discovery,  and  after  assuring 
him  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  alarm,  but  simply  necessity  for 
caution  lest  he  should  over-exert  himself,  he  expressed  the  wish  that 
Mr.  Moody  would  allow  him  to  make  an  appointment  for  a  consulta- 
tion with  Sir  Andrew  Clarke,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  authorities 
on  such  diseases,  as  he  did  not  wish  his  own  judgment  to  be  relied  on 
wholly  in  the  matter. 

"  Shortly  before  leaving  London  Mr.  Moody  saw  Sir  Andrew 
Clarke,  driving  immediately  to  the  latter's  office  from  a  farewell 
breakfast  given  by  Sir  George  Williams  and  a  large  number  of  other 
friends.  After  a  thorough  examination  the  physician  confirmed  the 
opinion  of  his  friend  regarding  Mr.  Moody's  condition. 

"  In  reply  to  Mr.  Moody's  inquiry  regarding  what  he  had  done  to 
bring  on  the  difficulty,  and  how  he  should  avoid  increased  trouble  in 
the  future,  the  celebrated  doctor  inquired  how  many  times  a  day  Mr. 
Moody  was  in  the  habit  of  speaking. 

Oh,  I  usually  preach  three  times  a  day.' 

1 '  How  many  days  in  the  week  ?  ' 

Five  days  in  the  week,  and  on  Sundays  four  or  five  times.' 
'  You're  a  fool,  sir ;  you're  a  fool ! '  was  the  brusque  response. 
'  You're  killing  yourself.' 

'  Well,  Doctor,'  said  Mr.  Moody,  '  I  take  Saturday  to  rest.     But 
may  I  ask  you  how  many  hours  a  day  you  work  ?  ' 
Oh,  I  work  sixteen  or  seventeen.' 


Capacity  for  Work  399 

"  '  How  many  days  a  week  ?  ' 

"  '  Every  day,  sir;  every  day.' 

"  '  Then,  Doctor,  I  think  you're  a  bigger  fool  than  I  am,  and  you'll 
kill  yourself  first.' 

"  And  with  these  pleasantries  the  two  men  parted,  the  celebrated 
physician  to  continue  his  wonderful  ministry  of  healing  for  little  more 
than  a  year,  while  Mr.  Moody  was  permitted  to  work  on  for  seven 
years,  although  with  the  consciousness  that  his  summons  might  come 
at  any  moment." 


CHAPTER    XXXV 
IN  PERIL  ON  THE  DEEP 

AT  the  close  of  this  unusually  trying  campaign  Mr.  Moody 
passed  through  an  experience  that  left  a  most  solemn  and 
lasting  impression  upon  his  mind.  In  November,  after  an 
absence  of  over  twelve  months,  he  secured  passage  for  himself  and 
his  son  on  the  North  German  Lloyd  line,  from  Southampton  for 
New  York.  A  small  company  gathered  at  the  station  in  London  to 
see  him  off,  and  in  company  with  two  friends  and  his  son  he  started 
for  Southampton.  The  journey  found  Mr.  Moody  in  the  best  of 
spirits.  To  be  again  on  his  way  home  had  been  a  long-anticipated 
pleasure,  and  it  was  expected  that  a  week  later  would  find  him  back  in 
America. 

The  last  good-byes  were  said  at  Southampton,  and  the  party  went 
on  board  the  Spree,  at  this  time  one  of  the  fastest  vessels  of  the  line. 

"  When  about  three  days  on  our  voyage,  I  remember,"  says  Mr. 
Moody,  in  describing  this  event,  "  I  was  lying  on  my  couch,  as  I 
generally  do  at  sea,  congratulating  myself  on  my  good  fortune,  and 
feeling  very  thankful  to  God.  I  considered  myself  a  very  fortunate 
man,  for  in  all  my  travels  by  land  and  sea  I  had  never  been  in  any 
accident  of  a  serious  nature. 

"  While  engaged  with  these  grateful  thoughts,  I  was  startled  by  a 
terrible  crash  and  shock,  as  if  the  vessel  had  been  driven  on  a  rock.  I 
did  not  at  first  feel  much  anxiety — perhaps  I  was  too  ill  to  think  about 
it.  My  son  jumped  from  his  berth  and  rushed  on  deck.  He  was 
back  again  in  a  few  moments,  exclaiming  that  the  shaft  was  broken 


In  Peril  on  the  Deep  401 

and  the  vessel  sinking.  I  did  not  at  first  believe  that  it  could  be  so 
bad,  but  concluded  to  dress  and  go  on  deck.  The  report  was  only 
too  true.  The  ship's  passengers  were  naturally  aroused,  but  in 
answer  to  frightened  inquiries  they  were  assured  that  it  was  only  a 
broken  shaft. 

"  The  serious  nature  of  the  accident  soon  became  evident,  however, 
as  other  passengers  rushed  on  deck  declaring  that  their  cabins  were 
rapidly  filling  with  water.  Later  it  was  found  that  the  two  fractured 
ends  of  the  shaft,  in  revolving,  had  broken  the  stern-tube,  admitting 
water  into  the  two  aftermost  compartments,  which  were  immediately 
filled.  The  bulkheads  between  the  compartments  were  closed  at 
once  and  braced  with  beams  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  water.  For 
two  days  the  ship  drifted  in  this  helpless  condition,  in  momentary  peril 
from  the  tremendous  force  of  the  water  in  the  flooded  compartments, 
which  beat  with  tremendous  force,  as  the  ship  rolled,  against  the  next 
compartment.  But  for  the  skill  of  Captain  Willigerod  and  his  effi- 
cient engineers,  Messrs.  Meissel  and  Baum,  the  ship  would  have  soon 
foundered. 

"  The  officers  and  crew  did  all  that  they  could  to  save  the  vessel. 
But  it  was  soon  found  that  the  pumps  were  useless,  for  the  water 
poured  into  the  ship  too  rapidly  to  be  controlled.  There  was  nothing 
more  in  the  power  of  man  to  do,  and  the  ship  was  absolutely  helpless, 
while  the  passengers  could  only  stand  still  on  the  poor  drifting,  sink- 
ing ship  and  look  into  our  possible  watery  graves. 

"  All  this  time,  unknown  to  the  passengers,  the  officers  were  mak- 
ing preparations  for  the  last  resort.  The  life-boats  were  all  put  in 
readiness,  provisions  were  prepared,  life-preservers  were  brought  out, 
the  officers  were  armed  with  revolvers  so  as  to  be  able  to  enforce  their 
orders,  and  it  was  only  a  question  of  whether  to  launch  the  boats  at 
once  or  wait.  The  sea  was  so  heavy  that  the  boats  could  hardly  live 
in  it. 

"  At  noon  the  captain  told  the  passengers  that  he  had  the  water 
under  control,  and  was  in  hopes  of  drifting  in  the  way  of  some  pass- 


402  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ing  vessel.  The  ship's  bow  was  now  high  in  the  air,  while  the  stern 
seemed  to  settle  more  and  more.  The  sea  was  very  rough ;  the  ship 
rolled  from  side  to  side,  lurching  fearfully.  The  captain  tried  to  keep 
up  hope  by  telling  the  anxious  people  that  they  would  probably  drift 
in  the  way  of  a  ship  by  three  o'clock  that  afternoon,  but  the  night 
closed  in  upon  them  without  the  sign  of  a  sail. 

"  That  was  an  awful  night,  the  darkest  in  all  our  lives — several 
hundred  men,  women,  and  children  waiting  for  the  doom  that  seemed 
to  be  settling  upon  us!  No  one  dared  to* sleep.  We  were  all  to- 
gether in  the  saloon  of  the  first  cabin — Jews,  Protestants,  Catholics, 
and  sceptics — although  I  doubt  if  at  that  time  there  were  many  scep- 
tics among  us.  The  agony  and  suspense  were  too  great  for  words. 
With  blanched  faces  and  trembling  hearts  the  passengers  looked  at 
one  another  as  if  trying  to  read  in  the  faces  of  those  about  them  what 
no  one  dared  to  speak.  Rockets  flamed  into  the  sky,  but  there  was 
no  answer.  We  were  drifting  out  of  the  track  of  the  great  steamers. 
Every  hour  seemed  to  increase  the  danger  of  the  situation. 

"  Sunday  morning  dawned  without  help  or  hope.  Up  to  that  time 
no  suggestion  for  religious  services  had  been  made.  To  have  done 
that  would  almost  certainly  have  produced  a  panic.  In  the  awful 
suspense  and  dread  that  prevailed,  a  word  about  religion  would  have 
suggested  the  most  terrible  things  to  the  passengers.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  divert  their  minds,  if  possible,  or  they  would  break  under  the 
strain.  But  as  that  second  night  came  on,  I  asked  Gen.  O.  O. 
Howard,  who  was  with  us,  to  secure  the  captain's  permission  for  a 
service  in  the  saloon.  The  captain  said : 

' '  Most  certainly;  I  am  that  kind,  too.' 

"  We  gave  notice  of  the  meeting,  and  to  our  surprise  nearly  every 
passenger  attended,  and  I  think  everybody  prayed,  sceptics  and  all. 

"  With  one  arm  clasping  a  pillar  to  steady  myself  on  the  reeling 
vessel,  I  tried  to  read  Psalm  xci.,  and  we  prayed  that  God  would  still 
the  raging  of  the  sea  and  bring  us  to  our  desired  haven.  It  was  a  new 
psalm  to  me  from  that  hour,  The  eleventh  verse  touched  me  very 


In  Peril  on  the  Deep  403 

deeply.  It  was  like  a  voice  of  divine  assurance,  and  it  seemed  a  very 
real  thing  as  I  read:  'He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways'  Surely  He  did  it !  I  read  also  from  Psalm 
cvii.  20-31.  One  lady  thought  those  words  must  have  been  written 
for  the  occasion,  and  afterwards  asked  to  see  the  book  for  herself.  A 
German  translated  verse  by  verse  as  I  read,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
countrymen. 

"  I  was  passing  through  a  new  experience.  I  had  thought  myself 
superior  to  the  fear  of  death.  I  had  often  preached  on  the  subject, 
and  urged  Christians  to  realize  this  victory  of  faith.  During  the 
Civil  War  I  had  been  under  fire  without  fear.  I  was  in  Chicago  dur- 
ing the  great  cholera  epidemic,  and  went  around  with  the  doctors 
visiting  the  sick  and  dying;  where  they  could  go  to  look  after  the 
bodies  of  men  I  said  I  could  go  to  look  after  their  souls.  I  remem- 
ber a  case  of  smallpox  where  the  sufferer's  condition  was  beyond  de- 
scription, yet  I  went  to  the  bedside  of  that  poor  sufferer  again  and 
again,  with  Bible  and  prayer,  for  Jesus'  sake.  In  all  this  I  had  no  fear 
of  death. 

"  But  on  the  sinking  ship  it  was  different.  There  was  no  cloud  be- 
tween my  soul  and  my  Saviour.  I  knew  my  sins  had  been  put  away, 
and  that  if  I  died  there  it  would  only  be  to  wake  up  in  Heaven.  That 
was  all  settled  long  ago.  But  as  my  thoughts  went  out  to  my  loved 
ones  at  home — my  wife,  my  children,  my  friends  on  both  sides  of 
the  sea,  the  schools  and  all  the  interests  so  dear  to  me — and  as  I 
realized  that  perhaps  the  next  hour  would  separate  me  forever  from 
all  these,  so  far  as  this  world  was  concerned,  I  confess  it  almost  broke 
me  down.  It  was  the  darkest  hour  of  my  life. 

"  I  could  not  endure  it.  I  must  have  relief,  and  relief  came  in 
prayer.  God  heard  my  cry,  and  enabled  me  to  say,  from  the  depth  of 
my  soul, '  Thy  will  be  done ! '  Sweet  peace  came  to  my  heart.  Let  it 
be  Northfield  or  Heaven,  it  made  no  difference  now.  I  went  to  bed, 
fell  asleep  almost  immediately,  and  never  slept  more  soundly  in  all 
my  life.  Out  of  the  depths  T  cried  unto  my  Lord,  and  He  heard  me 


404  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  delivered  me  from  all  my  fears.  I  can  no  more  doubt  that  God 
gave  answer  to  my  prayer  for  relief  than  I  can  doubt  my  own  exist- 
ence. 

"  About  three  o'clock  at  night  I  was  aroused  from  my  sound  sleep 
by  my  son's  voice :  '  Come  on  deck,  father/  he  said.  I  followed  him, 
and  he  pointed  to  a  far-off  light,  rising  and  sinking  on  the  sea.  It  was 
a  messenger  of  deliverance  to  us.  It  proved  to  be  the  light  of  the 
steamer  Lake  Huron,  bound  from  Montreal  to  Liverpool,  whose 
lookout  had  seen  our  signals  of  distress  and  supposed  it  was  a  vessel 
in  flames.  Oh,  the  joy  of  that  moment  when  these  seven  hundred 
despairing  passengers  beheld  the  approaching  ship !  Who  can  ever 
forget  it  ? 

"  But  now  the  question  was,  Can  this  small  steamer  tow  the  helpless 
Spree  a  thousand  miles  to  Queenstown?  Every  moment  was  passed 
in  the  intensest  anxiety  and  prayer.  It  was  a  brave  and  perilous  un- 
dertaking. The  vessels  were  at  last  connected  by  two  great  cables. 
If  a  storm  arose  these  would  snap  like  a  thread,  and  we  must  be  left  to 
our  fate.  But  I  had  no  fear.  God  would  finish  the  work  He  had 
begun.  The  waves  were  calmed,  the  cables  held,  our  steamer  moved 
in  the  wake  of  the  Huron.  There  were  storms  all  about  us,  but  they 
came  not  nigh  our  broken  ship.  Seven  days  after  the  accident,  by 
the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,  we  were  able  to  hold  a  joyous 
thanksgiving  service  in  the  harbor  of  Queenstown.  The  rescuing 
ship  that  God  sent  to  us  in  our  distress  had  just  sufficient  power  to 
tow  our  steamer  and  just  enough  coal  to  take  her  into  port.  Her 
captain  was  a  man  of  prayer ;  he  besought  God's  help  to  enable  them 
to  accomplish  their  dangerous  and  difficult  task ;  and  God  answered 
the  united  prayers  of  the  distressed  voyagers,  and  brought  us  to 
our  desired  haven." 

As  has  been  said,  the  experience  of  those  days  upon  the  Atlantic 
left  a  lasting  impression  upon  Mr.  Moody,  but  through  it  all  he  was 
thinking  of  others.  His  tender  heart  was  torn  by  the  scenes  of  anguish 
as  mothers  wept  over  their  children  and  fathers  pleaded  with  God  to 


VIEW  OF  CONNECTICUT  VALLEY  FROM  THE  STONE  CHAIR. 


NORTHFIELD    SEMINARY. 


THE  CAMP  AT  COLLEGE  CONFERENCE 


MARQUAND  HAI.L.  NORTHFIEI.D  SF.MINARY. 


NORTHFIELD    SF.MINARY    Buil.DIN'GS    ANI>    CvMITS    1  ROM   THF.    EAST. 


THE  CONNECTICUT  RIVER,  WITH  NORTHFIEI.D  SEMINARY  IN  THE  DISTANCE. 

Showing  road  to  South  Vernon. 


In  Peril  on  the  Deep  407 

spare  them  the  sight  of  their  sons'  destruction.  During  the  first  few 
hours  after  the  danger  was  known,  he  had  little  to  say.  Once  he  spoke 
of  the  probable  outcome  of  the  accident  to  his  son  :  "  I  had  hoped  to 
have  a  few  more  years  of  work.  I  had  planned  to  preach  the  Gospel 
in  Chicago  next  summer,  and  I  want  to  do  some  more  work  on  the 
schools  at  Northfield  and  Chicago.  But,,  if  my  work  is  ended,  why, 
it's  all  right.  It's  hard  for  you,  though,  with  your  life-work  just  be- 
ginning. If  it's  God's  will,  however,  it's  all  for  the  best."  And  there 
he  left  it. 

Strangely  enough,  this  experience  apparently  cured  Mr.  Moody  of 
his  old  enemy,  seasickness,  and,  engaging  passage  on  the  Etruria 
from  Queenstown  to  New  York,  he  was  able  to  enjoy  every  moment 
of  the  trip. 

His  arrival  in  America  was  the  occasion  for  great  and  sincere  con- 
gratulation. After  a  brief  interview  with  the  friends  gathered  to 
welcome  him,  Mr.  Moody  and  the  members  of  his  family  started 
for  home,  reaching  Northfield  that  evening.  What  a  reception 
was  accorded  him  as  he  approached  the  scenes  so  dear  to  his 
heart ! 

As  the  express  train  rushed  out  of  the  darkness  and  drew  up  at  the 
Mount  Hermon  School  station,  hundreds  of  torches  flashed  in  the 
darkness,  a  brass  band  sounded  its  welcome,  and  cheers  rang  from 
three  hundred  students.  Up  to  the  car  windows  and  along  the  plat- 
form streamed  a  crowd  of  young  men. 

"  Where  is  he?  "  cried  a  score  of  voices,  and  quicker  than  it  takes 
to  tell  it,  came  the  answer: 

"  Here,  back  there." 

On  the  lower  step  of  the  car  platform  stood  the  man  they  wanted, 
bare-headed,  his  face  beaming  with  joy  at  such  a  welcome  from  his 
"  boys  "  after  a  year's  absence. 

The  cheers  were  still  ringing  when  the  train  pulled  out  for  South 
Vernon,"where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moody  left  it  for  their  drive  across  the 
river  to  Northfield.  At  Revell  Hall,  the  first  of  the  Seminary  build- 

23 


4o8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ings,  his  "  giris  "  had  gathered  for  a  welcome  less  noisy  but  no  less 
hearty. 

From  his  carriage  Mr.  Moody  told  them  that  God  had  answered 
their  prayer  for  him  in  his  hour  of  danger,  and  that  his  first  word, 
now  he  was  among  his  own  again,  must  be  one  of  testimony  to  God's 
faithfulness  and  mercy.  It  was  characteristic  of  the  man  whose  big- 
heartedness  made  him  beloved  by  this  great  company  of  students 
that,  before  he  entered  his  own  home,  he  went  first  to  the  house  near 
by  to  see  his  aged  mother. 

The  next  morning,  a  clear,  crisp  New  England  winter  Sabbath,  the 
Mount  Hermon  boys  walked  four  miles  to  join  in  the  morning  wor- 
ship in  Northfield  Church  with  the  young  ladies  of  the  Seminary 
and  the  townspeople.  In  place  of  the  usual  sermon,  Mr.  Moody  told 
in  simple,  heartfelt  words  the  thrilling  story  of  the  voyage. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 
WORLD'S  FAIR  CAMPAIGN 

AMONG  his  other  qualifications  for  the  career  of  an  evangelist 
Mr.  Moody  included  a  peculiar  genius  for  recognizing 
opportunities.  On  no  occasion  was  this  gift  better  illus- 
trated than  in  the  evangelistic  campaign  conducted  in  Chicago  during 
the  World's  Fair  in  1893.  The  idea  of  making  such  a  carnival  the 
scene  of  a  wide-spread  evangelistic  effort  was  as  novel  as  it  was  daring. 
But  the  plan  was  under  consideration  for  months,  and  was  arranged 
while  the  Exposition  buildings  were  still  under  construction.  During 
the  previous  season,  in  his  missions  in  Great  Britain,  he  alluded  fre- 
quently to  this  purpose  of  his,  and  sought  to  enlist  the  prayers  of 
Christians  everywhere  for  the  effort. 

Like  his  Master,  Mr.  Moody  could  not  look  upon  the  multitude  and 
not  be  moved  with  compassion.  The  great  cities  always  attracted 
him  by  the  opportunities  for  work  they  presented,  and  Chicago, 
during  the  World's  Fair,  was,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  the  opportu- 
nity of  a  century."  Its  ordinary  cosmopolitan  population  was  swol- 
len by  the  influx  of  thousands,  many  of  whom  belonged  to  the 
worst  classes  of  society.  At  best,  religious  work  is  difficult  there, 
and  during  the  Fair  the  distractions  and  activities  were  multiplied 
enormously.  Added  to  this,  the  fact  that  in  summer  there  is  always 
a  lull  in  Christian  activity  made  the  outlook  far  from  promising.  The 
most  experienced  pastors  and  laymen  of  the  city  looked  forward  to 
the  Fair  with  misgivings  and  apprehensions  altogether  reasonable. 

"  It  was  a  question,"  said  a  leading  pastor,  "  what  was  to  become 


4io  The  Life  of  Dwight  L,  Moody 

of  us  during  the  six  months.  We  knew  it  would  be  a  time  of  great 
excitement,  and  what  should  become  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
churches,  we  knew  not." 

As  far  back  as  his  Palestine  trip  Mr.  Moody  had  looked  forward 
to  this  work.  Sitting  on  Olivet,  watching  the  city  over  which  the 
Saviour  wept,  he  thought  of  the  city  where  he  had  begun  his  early 
Christian  efforts,  the  city  with  its  noble  churches  and  earnest  preach- 
ers, its  faithful  Sunday-school  and  Association  workers,  its  devoted 
Christians  and  philanthropists.  Side  by  side  with  the  city  of  temples 
and  saints  he  saw  another  one,  inhabited  by  men  who  cared  for  none 
of  these  things;  he  saw  the  gilded  gambling  halls  and  the  dingy  bar- 
rooms, the  parlors  of  shame  and  the  miserable  dives,  the  sacrilegious 
concert-rooms  and  the  vulgar  variety  shows,  alike  desecrating  the 
day  of  rest.  He  saw,  as  few  men  see  it,  the  chasm  which  divided  the 
classes,  and  he  knew  that  even  with  a  church  on  every  block  in  Chi- 
cago there  would  still  be  a  vast  unchurched  population,  a  city  in  a  city 
going. down  to  death,  many  of  them  crying  piteously: 

"  No  man  cares  for  my  soul !  " 

Into  the  city  of  wealth  and  culture  and  piety  and  the  city  of  poverty 
and  ignorance  and  crime  he  saw  a  multitude  pouring  from  every 
State  and  Territory  and  town  in  this  country  and  from  every  nation 
under  heaven.  Where  would  they  turn  when  they  reached  their 
destination?  The  White  City,  their  goal,  would  be  visited,  but  so 
would  the  places  of  sin  and  sorrow.  The  closed  church  doors  and  the 
open  saloons,  the  darkened  house  of  God  and  the  brilliantly  lighted 
devil's  den  burdened  his  soul.  The  contrast  was  an  inspiration,  and 
during  all  the  thirteen  intervening  months  he  worked  with  one  great 
object  in  view. 

"  Just  as  I  was  preparing  to  leave  London  the  last  time,"  he  said, 
"  I  called  upon  a  celebrated  physician,  who  told  me  that  my  heart  was 
weakening  and  that  T  must  let  up  on  my  work,  that  I  must  be  more 
careful  of  myself;  and  I  went  home  with  the  thought  that  I  would  not 
work  quite  so  hard.  I  was  on  the  steamer  Spree,  and  when  the  an- 


INTERIOR  CHICAGO  AVENUE  CHURCH,  CHICAGO. 

Largely  built  from  hymn-book  royalties  and  contributions  of  Sunday-school  children 
of  the  world. 


LECTURE-ROOM,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 

Superintendent  R.  A.  Torrey  delivering  Bible  lecture. 


OFFICE,  LADIES'  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 


RECEPTION-ROOM,  MEN'S  DEPARTMENT,  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 


World's  Fair  Campaign  413 

nouncement  was  made  that  the  steamer  was  sinking,  and  we  were 
there  in  a  helpless  condition  in  mid-ocean,  no  one  on  earth  knows 
what  I  passed  through  as  I  thought  that  my  work  was  finished,  and 
that  I  should  never  again  have  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God.  And  on  that  dark  night,  the  first  night  of  the 
accident,  I  made  a  vow  that  if  God  would  spare  my  life  and  bring  me 
back  to  America,  I  would  come  to  Chicago,  and  at  the  World's  Fair 
preach  the  Gospel  with  all  the  power  that  He  would  give  me." 

This  was  his  one  purpose,  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Congresses  for 
discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of  different  religions  had  no  attrac- 
tions for  him,  and  he  felt  no  call  to  offer  apologies  for  Christianity, 
but  for  six  months  he  tried  to  give  the  Gospel  an  opportunity  to  speak 
for  itself. 

When  the  Fair  managers  decided  to  keep  open  on  Sundays,  some 
said,  "  Let  us  boycott  the  Fair  ";  others,  "  Let  us  appeal  to  the  law, 
and  compel  them  to  close  on  Sundays."  But  Mr.  Moody  said,  "  Let  us 
open  so  many  preaching  places  and  present  the  Gospel  so  attractively 
that  the  people  will  want  to  come  and  hear  it." 

His  plan  of  campaign  was  simple.  Chicago  is  naturally  divided 
into  three  sections  by  the  forking  river:  the  north  side,  the  west 
side,  and  the  south  side.  In  each  section  a  church  centre  was  se- 
lected :  Chicago  Avenue  or  "  Moody's  Church  "  on  the  north,  the 
First  Congregational  Church  on  the  west,  and  Immanuel  Baptist  on 
the  south.  Later  many  other  churches  were  offered  and  occupied. 

Mr.  Moody  was  not  able  to  carry  on  the  work  alone,  but  asso- 
ciated with  him  many  prominent  Christian  workers  from  all  parts 
of  America  and  Europe.  Buildings  and  tents  sufficient  to  hold  large 
audiences  were  secured,  and,  most  important  of  all  from  a  business 
man's  point  of  view,  money  to  pay  the  bills  of  speakers  and  singers, 
buildings  and  advertising.  In  this  one  detail  of  raising  funds  for  the 
support  of  the  work  there  was  sufficient  to  tax  the  utmost  strength  of 
most  men.  At  one  time  the  daily  expenditures  in  the  rent  of  halls, 
cost  of  advertising,  salaries  and  entertainment  of  speakers,  clerks,  and 


4i4  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

others  amounted  to  $800.  This  sum  had  to  be  met  by  Mr.  Moody's 
personal  efforts.  A  large  force  of  secretaries  wrote  appeals  under  his 
direction,  and  the  cooperation  of  the  religious  press  in  giving  full 
notice  to  the  work  aided  greatly  in  securing  the  generous  support  of 
the  Christian  public. 

But  this  was  only  an  incident  of  the  work  to  which  Mr.  Moody 
gave  himself.  Rising  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  would  begin 
the  day's  work  by  an  hour  of  solitary  communion  with  God.  Then 
in  quick  succession  would  follow  the  day's  routine.  The  regular  work 
of  the  Bible  Institute  with  its  lectures  and  classes  was  continued  as 
usual,  and  its  three  hundred  students  proved  most  helpful  in  the 
work.  Under  Mr.  Moody's  personal  supervision  meetings  were 
extended  in  every  direction.  As  there  were  great  districts  which 
it  was  desired  to  reach,  where  the  residents  would  not  enter  a  church 
even  if  one  were  accessible,  he  decided  to  hire  theatres.  He  offered 
a  large  sum  for  the  use  of  the  Auditorium  on  Sundays,  but  could 
not  secure  it  at  any  price.  But  soon  a  footing  was  obtained  in  the 
Haymarket  Theatre,  and  here  he  preached  every  Sunday  morning 
until  the  end  of  the  campaign,  with  the  exception  of  two  Sundays, 
when  he  was  absent  from  the  city.  As  the  movement  grew,  other 
theatres  and  halls  were  rented,  until  eight  or  nine  were  under  his 
control,  some  on  Sundays  only,  but  others  throughout  the  week. 

Five  tents  were  in  constant  use,  pitched  at  strategic  points  in  the 
midst  of  non-churchgoing  communities.  Two  gospel  wagons  were 
in  use,  from  which  tracts  were  distributed,  addresses  given,  and  gospel 
hymns  sung  to  the  motley  audience  that  would  gather  wherever  a  halt 
was  made  in  the  thickly  populated  tenement  district.  A  shop  in  the 
heart  of  the  city  was  rented  and  fitted  up  as  a  mission  hall.  A  number 
of  Institute  students  lodged  overhead,  and  meetings  were  held  not 
only  every  afternoon  and  evening,  but  a  special  squad  came  on  at  ten 
at  night,  in  order  to  reach  the  drunkards  and  harlots  who  haunted 
the  vicinity  far  into  the  morning  hours. 

Special  efforts  were  made  to  influence  the  neighborhood  of  the 


World's  Fair  Campaign  415 

Fair  grounds.  Here,  on  the  open  prairie,  hotels  and  other  buildings 
had  grown  up  like  gourds,  without  any  effort  to  keep  corresponding 
pace  in  providing  church  accommodations.  But  Mr.  Moody  secured 
the  use  of  half  a  dozen  tents,  tabernacles,  and  hotel  parlors.  The  most 
notable  meetings  of  the  campaign,  judged  from  the  popular  stand- 
point, were  probably  those  held  in  Tattersall's  Hall  and  Forepaugh's 
circus  tents.  When  Mr.  Moody  announced  the  meeting  in  Tatter- 
sail's,  with  its  seating  capacity  of  ten  to  fifteen  thousand,  he  said: 
"  We've  got  something  better  than  the  Military  Tournament,  and  we 
must  get  a  bigger  audience  than  they."  The  vast  audience  was  all 
that  could  be  desired. 

Forepaugh's  circus  came  to  Chicago  in  June,  and  established  itself 
on  the  lake  front.  The  manager  rented  the  tent  to  Mr.  Moody  for 
Sunday  morning,  but  reserved  it  for  his  own  shows  in  the  afternoon 
and  evening.  When  the  circus  advertisement  appeared  the  manager 
had  included  the  morning  meeting  in  his  announcement  as  follows: 

"Ha!    Ha!    Ha! 

"Three  Big  Shows  ! 

"  Moody  in  the  Morning  ! 

"  Forepaugh  in  the  Afternoon  and  Evening  !  " 

The  great  canvas  ellipse  covered  an  immense  area,  having  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of  ten  thousand,  with  standing  room  in  the  arena  for 
ten  thousand  more.  While  it  was  being  prepared  for  the  meeting, 
a  circus  man  chaffingly  asked  Mr.  Moody  if  he  expected  to  get  three 
thousand  hearers.  His  curiosity  was  probably  satisfied  when  on  two 
successive  Sundays  the  large  area  of  the  tent  was  crowded  to  over- 
flowing with  those  who  were  eager  to  hear  the  "  Old  Gospel."  In 
the  centre  of  the  arena  a  rude  platform  was  erected  for  the  speakers 
and  a  few  of  the  singers,  while  the  rest  of  the  song  corps  were  .massed 
around  them.  An  observer  thus  describes  the  scene : 

"  The  surroundings  were  the  usual  circus  furniture — ropes,  tra- 
pezes, gaudy  decorations,  etc.,  while  in  an  adjoining  canvas  build- 


4i 6  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ing  was  a  large  menagerie,  including  eleven  elephants.  Clowns, 
grooms,  circus-riders,  men,  women,  and  children,  eighteen  thousand 
of  them,  and  on  a  Sunday  morning,  too !  Whether  the  Gospel  was 
ever  before  preached  under  such  circumstances  I  know  not,  but  it 
was  wonderful  to  ear  and  eye  alike." 

When  that  mighty  throng  took  up  the  hymn,  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to 
Thee,"  a  visible  sense  of  awe  fell  upon  the  multitude.  After  an  hour 
of  singing  and  prayer  Mr.  Moody  rose  to  preach,  his  text  being, 
"  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 
The  Spirit  of  God  was  present.  The  hush  of  Heaven  was  over  the 
meeting.  Towards  the  close  of  the  address  there  was  a  slight  dis- 
turbance, and  a  "  lost  child  "  was  passed  up  to  the  platform.  Mr. 
Moody  held  her  up  so  that  her  parents  might  see  her;  and  when 
her  anxious  father  reached  the  platform  Mr.  Moody  placed  the  child 
in  his  arms  and  said : 

"  That  is  what  Jesus  Christ  came  to  do :  to  seek  and  to  save  lost 
sinners,  and  restore  them  to  their  Heavenly  Father's  embrace." 

Mr.  Moody  rented  this  circus  tent  for  two  Sundays.  It  was  a  reve- 
lation to  the  circus  manager  that  so  many  people  would  come  to  listen 
to  songs  and  sermons.  His  afternoon  and  evening  shows  were  so 
thinly  attended  that  he  abandoned  Sunday  exhibitions,  and  asked 
Mr.  Moody  to  keep  him  supplied  with  an  evangelist  to  hold  gospel 
meetings  in  the  tent  on  Sundays  in  other  cities,  promising  to  bear  all 
the  travelling  and  other  expenses  of  such  an  arrangement.  While 
the  opportunity  in  Chicago  was  exceptional,  there  were  serious  objec- 
tions to  complying  with  such  a  request. 

Every  variety  of  gospel  meeting  was  held :  men's,  women's,  chil- 
dren's meetings;  temperance,  soldiers',  jail  meetings;  open-air  and 
cottage  meetings ;  meetings  for  Germans,  Poles,  Bohemians,  French, 
Jews,  and  even  for  the  Arabs  in  the  Fair  grounds;  meetings  for 
praise  and  for  p/ayer;  all-day  and  all-night  meetings. 

Chicago  at  all  times  is  a  cosmopolitan  city,  and  this  was,  of  course, 
especially  apparent  during  that  notable  season.  Strangers  from  all 


World's  Fair  Campaign  417 

parts  of  the  world  came  by  thousands,  and  it  was  Mr.  Moody's  pur- 
pose, as  far  as  possible,  to  reach  all  people  and  all  nations.  To  do 
this  he  enlisted  the  aid  of  prominent  European  ministers  and  evan- 
gelists. Pindor,  of  Silesia,  came  to  preach  to  the  Poles;  Rabino- 
witz,  of  Russia,  to  the  Jews;  Monod,  of  Paris,  to  the  French; 
Stoecker,  of  Berlin,  to  the  Germans.  To  mention  Americans  who 
ministered  in  German,  Swedish,  Bohemian,  and  other  tongues,  as 
well  as  in  English,  would  be  to  name  most  of  the  prominent  evan- 
gelical preachers,  teachers,  and  singers  of  this  country.  Paton,  of  the 
New  Hebrides;  Thomas  Spurgeon  and  Varley,  of  Australia,  and 
hosts  from  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  took  part.  The  coopera- 
tion of  many  Fair  visitors,  like  Count  Bernstorff,  of  Berlin,  and  Lord 
Kinnaird,  of  London,  was  also  secured  during  their  stay  in  Chicago. 
As  the  last  weeks  of  the  Fair  approached,  the  work  gathered  mo- 
mentum. A  large  hall  in  the  centre  of  the  city  was  secured,  where 
daily  a  two  hours'  midday  service  was  held. 

Mr.  Moody  urged  Christians  everywhere  to  pray  and  labor  with 
unremitting  diligence.  "  It  seems  as  if  we  had  only  been  playing  dur- 
ing the  past  weeks,"  he  said;  "  now  we  are  going  to  work.  We  have 
just  been  fishing  along  the  shore;  now  we  are  going  to  launch  out 
into  the  deep.  Friends,  help  fill  up  the  churches.  Let  us  see  whether 
we  can't  wake  up  this  whole  city.  There  is  now  before  us  the  grand- 
est opportunity  for  extending  the  Kingdom  of  God  that  this  country 
has  ever  seen.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  will  come  in  during 
these  last  weeks  of  the  World's  Fair.  It  is  possible  to  reach  them 
with  the  gospel  message.  We  want  to  get  still  more  buildings  for 
meetings  near  the  Fair  grounds.  We'll  hire  all  the  theatres  we  can 
get.  I'll  use  all  the  money  you  will  give  me  to  push  the  work.  We 
are  spending  now  about  $800  a  day  in  this  work,  and  could  spend 
$8,000  a  day  if  we  had  it.  We  are  getting  new  places  for  meetings 
as  fast  as  we  can.  \Ve  want  to  press  these  closing  days  of  the  World's 
Fair  as  never  before." 

On  several  of  those  last  Sundays  Mr.  Moody  controlled  as  many 


4i 8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

as  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  different  meetings — assuming,  when 
it  was  necessary,  the  expenses  of  rent  and  incidentals,  furnishing 
speakers  and  singers,  and  working  up  the  attendance>  which  would 
aggregate  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  each  Sunday.  High- 
water  mark  on  weekdays  was  reached  on  Chicago  Day,  October  8th. 
Chicago  determined  to  celebrate,  on  a  colossal  scale,  the  twenty- 
second  anniversary  of  the  great  fire  of  1871.  Mr.  Moody  also  deter- 
mined to  make  special  efforts.  The  Fair  arranged  extra  attractions, 
and  over  seven  hundred  thousand  people  passed  through  the  gates 
that  day.  Mr.  Moody  held  continuous  meetings  in  three  large  cen- 
tral halls,  and  in  one  case  the  attendance  was  so  large  that  the  speakers 
had  difficulty  in  pushing  their  way  in. 

In  all  the  trying  circumstances  of  the  work  Mr.  Moody's  general- 
ship in  marshalling  his  forces  was  second  only  to  his  faith  in  the  work 
and  his  tact  in  avoiding  internal  difficulties.  Only  those  who  were 
familiar  with  the  inside  workings  of  the  campaign  realized  how  diffi- 
cult his  duties  were  at  times,  and  what  heroism,  self-effacement,  and 
skill  it  required  to  keep  a  large  force  of  helpers  engaged  in  so  tre- 
mendous a  work  without  friction. 

Mr.  Moody's  own  estimate  of  the  results  of  the  work,  given  in 
an  interview  at  the  close  of  the  campaign,  thus  describes  the  six 
months'  effort.  In  replying  to  various  questions,  he  said : 

"  The  principal  result  of  our  six  months'  work  is  that  millions  have 
heard  the  simple  Gospel  preached  by  some  of  the  most  gifted  preach- 
ers in  the  world;  thousands  have  apparently  been  genuinely  converted 
to  Christ,  and  Christians  all  over  this  land  have  been  brought  to  a 
deeper  spiritual  life  and  aroused  to  more  active  Christian  effort  for 
the  salvation  of  others." 

"  Have  you  learned  any  new  lessons  or  suggestions  about  Christian 
work  from  your  experience  and  observation  during  the  six  months' 
labor?" 

"  I  have  learned  that  the  summer,  so  far  from  being  the  worst,  is 
the  best  time  to  carry  on  Christian  work  in  our  cities.  I  have  learned 


World's  Fair  Campaign  419 

to  appreciate  more  than  ever  the  power  that  there  is  in  concentrated 
and  united  Christian  action.  I  have  been  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  it  is  the  Christian  people  of  the  land  that  take  an  interest  in  and 
patronize  such  expositions  as  the  World's  Fair." 

"  Would  such  an  extensive,  long-continued  series  of  gospel  meet- 
ings be  practicable  and  advisable  at  other  times  and  places?  " 

"  Certainly.  A  gospel  campaign  such  as  that  in  Chicago  this  sum- 
mer would  be  practicable,  I  believe,  in  any  other  large  city,  even 
where  there  was  no  Fair." 

"  What  do  you  consider  to  be  the  most  effective  agency,  or  agen- 
cies, in  the  prosecution  of  your  campaign?  " 

"  The  preaching  and  singing  of  the  old  Gospel  and  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

"  Will  you  gratify  a  curious  public  by  stating  what  has  been  the 
aggregate  expense  of  your  entire  six  months'  labor?  " 

"  The  entire  expense,  exclusive  of  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  In- 
stitute, was  $60,000;  an  additional  large  expenditure  had  to  be  made 
to  enlarge  the  buildings  before  the  beginning  of  the  campaign." 

"  Do  you  mind  telling  how  these  enormous  expenses  have  been 
met?" 

"  By  the  gifts  of  generous  Christian  individuals  and  societies  all 
over  the  United  States,  Canada,  and  England.  Some  of  this  money 
was  given  in  answer  to  personal  appeals,  and  some  without  any  sug- 
gestion from  me." 

"  What  assurance,  if  any,  did  you  have  at  the  beginning  that  the 
means  would  be  provided  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  ?  " 

"  Only  that  I  knew  the  work  ought  to  be  done,  and  that  I  knew 
we  have  a  God  who  will  always  sustain  us  in  doing  what  we  ought 
to  do." 

Many  people  who  went  to  Chicago  to  attend  the  Exposition  be- 
came so  interested  in  the  gospel  meetings  that  they  divided  their  time 
between  the  Fair  and  the  meetings.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Frederick  Camp- 
bell, at  that  time  a  Chicago  pastor,  in  writing  of  the  campaign,  said : 


420  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  A  great  feature  of  the  entire  period  of  the  World's  Fair  has  been 
a  series  of  evangelistic  meetings  conducted  by  Mr.  Moody.  There 
is  probably  nothing  to  match  it  in  the  entire  history  of  the  Christian 
church;  even  the  Apostles  never  saw  things  done  after  this  fashion. 
Mr.  Moody's  true  place  is  in  Chicago,  where  everything  is  done  on  a 
mammoth  scale  and  with  mammoth  energy.  He  has  once  more 
proved  himself  to  be  a  most  remarkable  instrument  in  the  hands  ol 
Providence  for  working  out  divine  plans.  As  a  Christian  he  is  thor- 
oughly permeated  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  and  baptized  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  As  an  organizer  he  is  a  general;  massing,  distributing, 
and  controlling  forces  of  men  and  women  in  the  most  remarkable 
manner.  I  do  not  discover  that  there  has  been  a  failure  in  any  of  his 
plans ;  the  audacity  with  which  he  has  undertaken  unheard  of  things 
for  Christ  has  been  an  assurance  of  success.  If  ordinary  preachers 
had  a  little  more  of  his  audacity,  with  the  faith  and  works  which 
should  accompany  it,  they  would  achieve  greater  things." 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 

THE  USE  OF  THE  PRESS 

IT  has  been  said  of  Mr.  Moody  that  his  most  prominent  character- 
istic was  his  "  consecrated  common-sense."  One  of  the  best 
illustrations  of  this  was  his  keen  appreciation  of  the  great  evan- 
gelistic possibilities  of  the  press.  For  some  years  the  Chicago  papers 
were  not  disposed  to  treat  his  missionary  efforts  with  any  serious- 
ness, and  "  Crazy  "  Moody,  or  "  Brother  "  Moody,  as  he  was  familiarly 
known,  was  the  butt  of  many  a  good-natured  jest.  It  may  be  that 
his  aversion  to  the  title  of  "  brother  "  in  later  years  may  be  attributed 
to  this  early  experience,  for  we  never  heard  him  use  the  term. 

As  the  growth  and  results  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  made  apparent  the 
sound  judgment  that  in  every  case  accompanied  his  zeal,  the  secular 
press  became  more  friendly.  His  success  in  raising  money  and  secur- 
ing teachers  for  his  school,  the  confidence  shown  by  wealthy  people  in 
his  efforts  to  erect  Christian  Association  buildings,  his  indefatigable 
activity  in  reaching  and  holding  those  who  were  not  desired  elsewhere 
or  for  whom  no  special  efforts  had  been  made,  his  practical  work  for 
the  soldiers,  his  growing  popularity  in  Sunday-school  conventions — all 
these  gradually  won  for  him  the  respect  of  those  who  had  been  at 
first  inclined  to  be  amused  by  his  zeal. 

Mr.  Moody  seldom  replied  to  misstatements  in  the  newspapers,  but 
when,  in  his  early  evangelistic  career,  it  was  stated  in  the  press  that 
he  was  making  a  good  thing  financially  out  of  his  religious  work,  he 
referred  to  the  criticism.  There  were  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  his  voice 
quivered  as  he  said : 


424  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  As  I  know  my  heart,  before  God,  I  have  never  let  the  desire  for 
money  determine  my  conduct  in  any  way.  I  know  I  am  weak  and 
come  short  in  many  ways,  but  the  devil  has  not  that  hold  upon  me.  I 
have  never  profited  personally  by  a  single  dollar  that  has  been  raised 
through  my  work,  and  it  hurts  me  to  be  charged  with  it,  above  all 
things.  May  God  forgive  those  who  say  this  of  me." 

More  than  $1,125,000  was  received  from  royalties  on  the  hymn- 
books,  which  was  used  for  benevolent  objects.  Mr.  Moody  was  a  good 
financier;  he  appreciated  the  value  of  money,  but  he  never  used  it  to 
build  a  fortune ;  he  desired  it  simply  that  he  might  use  it  in  doing  good. 

On  two  other  occasions  Mr.  Moody  made  a  public  denial  of  news- 
paper reports — not  for  the  sake  of  personal  gratification,  but  solely 
because  of  the  injury  to  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  In  1877 
the  Boston  papers  accused  him  of  having  purchased  a  racing  horse, 
for  which  it  was  claimed  that  he  had  paid  $4,000.  Finding  that  the 
statement  was  being  credited  by  some,  and  that  these  were  prejudiced 
by  it,  Mr.  Moody  made  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts  of  the  case.  He 
had  bought  a  roadster  whose  special  virtue  was  its  gentleness  as  a 
family  horse — not  its  speed  as  a  racer.  The  price,  he  also  stated,  had 
been  exaggerated,  and  there  should  be  deducted  from  the  amount 
claimed  $3,750,  as  he  had  only  given  $250. 

The  second  statement  that  brought  forth  a  public  denial  from  Mr. 
Moody  was  a  newspaper  report  circulated  in  Richmond,  Va.,  while  he 
was  conducting  a  mission  in  that  city.  One  of  the  local  papers  printed 
a  letter  in  which  the  writer  stated  that  on  a  certain  occasion  he  had 
heard  Mr.  Moody  make  most  disparaging  references  to  Generals  Rob- 
ert E.  Lee  and  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson.  The  rumor  was  at  first  ignored. 
Later  it  was  found  that  the  meetings  were  being  seriously  affected, 
and  that  a  bitter  opposition  was  rapidly  growing.  Mr.  Moody's  high 
regard  for  the  men  referred  to,  and  his  public  tributes  to  their  mem- 
ory, were  not  sufficiently  known  to  prove  the  falsity  of  the  story  to  the 
public.  Fortunately,  his  addresses  had  all  been  printed  at  the  time 
when  it  was  claimed  he  had  made  the  offensive  remarks.  Absolutely 


The  Use  of  the  Press  425 

denying  the  charge  at  one  of  his  meetings,  he  brought  out  this  fact, 
and  challenged  any  one  to  find  any  reference  to  the  disparagement  of 
either  of  the  two  brave  generals,  for  whom  he  had  the  highest  personal 
regard.  What  was  apparently  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  work  was  then 
turned  to  the  good  of  the  meetings,  and  a  most  successful  mission 
followed. 

Although  an  appreciative  friend  of  the  public  press,  Mr.  Moody 
never  compromised  in  his  denunciation  of  its  evils.  He  had  no 
patience  whatever  with  the  Sunday  newspaper,  but  did  not  spend  his 
time  in  condemning  the  editors  and  reporters  of  the  papers  that  pub- 
lished a  Sunday  edition.  On  the  contrary,  he  felt  that  both  editors 
and  reporters  were  among  his  best  allies.  While  he  reached  an  audi- 
ence limited  by  the  walls  of  the  building  where  he  spoke,  they  were 
able  to  carry  his  message  into  places  that  no  minister  or  city  mis- 
sionary could  visit.  With  their  assistance  he  could  reach  an  audience 
a  hundred  times  larger  than  could  be  accommodated  in  any  church  or 
hall.  Thus,  while  he  never  flattered  representatives  of  the  press,  he 
was  extremely  cordial  to  them,  and  was  able  to  trace  many  a  conver- 
sion to  their  agency. 

In  Great  Britain,  the  press,  at  first  suspicious  of  the  Americans, 
finally  took  up  the  matter  in  earnest,  and  column  after  column  was 
devoted  to  reports  of  Mr.  Moody's  sermons  and  accounts  of  the 
services.  Later,  on  his  return  to  America,  one  or  two  daily  papers 
in  each  city  where  he  held  his  great  campaigns  would  report  his 
sermons,  either  wholly  or  in  part.  Frequently  the  same  paper  would 
publish  a  stenographic  report  of  everything  said,  sermon,  prayers, 
and  hymns,  even  though  the  series  of  meetings  lasted  for  three  or  six 
months. 

"  It  kept  me  busy,"  he  once  said,  "  in  a  city  where,  for  six  months, 
every  word  that  I  spoke  was  printed  daily  in  one  of  the  papers."  But 
one  of  the  most  important  conversions  resulting  from  that  series  of 
meetings  occurred,  not  in  the  crowded  hall,  but  in  a  narrow  cell  in 
the  city  prison,  where  Valentine  Burke,  a  criminal,  was  led  to  Christ 


426  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

through  reading  a  sermon,  and  this  one  was  but  a  representative  of 
thousands  who  were  benefited  without  ever  hearing  the  sound  of  the 
evangelist's  voice. 

The  advertising  columns  of  the  daily  papers  were  also  used,  in 
accordance  with  the  same  principles  that  are  recognized  to  be  helpful 
in  the  business  world.  "'  Some  ministers  think  it  undignified  to  adver- 
tise their  services,"  he  said  on  one  occasion.  "  It's  a  good  deal  more 
undignified  to  preach  to  empty  pews,  I  think."  He  believed  that  the 
Christian  minister  should  have  an  audience,  and  that  services  especially 
intended  to  reach  those  who  are  not  under  church  influence  should 
be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  without  excuse  if  they  did  not  avail  themselves  of  the  privilege. 

The  reports  of  the  Northfield  Conferences  soon  became  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  "  The  New  York  Tribune  "  and  of  the  Springfield 
"  Republican  "  and  "  Union."  In  every  way  Mr.  Moody  encouraged 
the  secular  press  in  giving  accounts  of  these  summer  gatherings,  as- 
suring every  facility  and  convenience  to  their  representatives. 

That  the  Conference  addresses  might  be  preserved  in  permanent 
form,  and  be  retained  by  those  who  had  heard  them,  as  well  as  sent  to 
those  who  were  unable  to  attend.  "  The  Northfield  Echoes  "  was 
founded  in  1894.  Every  year  four  numbers  are  issued,  in  the  months 
of  June,  July,  August,  and  September.  The  first  is  of  a  general  char- 
acter, consisting  largely  of  articles  descriptive  of  Northfield,  its 
schools,  programme  of  the  Conferences,  etc.  The  second  reports  the 
addresses  given  at  the  World's  Student  Conference,  as  the  meetings 
for  young  men  are  called ;  the  third  tells  of  the  Young  Women's  Con- 
ference; and  the  fourth  of  the  Bible  Conference. 

With  such  devotion  to  the  Scriptures  it  is  not  surprising  that  plans 
for  increasing  its  study  should  continually  occupy  his  mind.  In  1881 
he  urged  Major  D.  W.  Whittle  to  prepare  a  scheme  of  daily  Bible  read- 
ings, with  notes,  and  publish  them  regularly.  This  was  done  as  a  supple- 
ment to  a  periodical  just  then  about  to  make  its  appearance,  "  The 
Record  of  Christian  Work,"  itself  the  outgrowth  of  Mr.  Moody's  sug- 


WANAMAKKR  LAKE  IN  SUMMER  DRESS. 


NORTHFIELD    IN    WlNTER    DRESS. 


The  Use  of  the  Press  429 

gestion,  having  for  its  purpose  the  report  of  evangelistic  missions, 
missionary  efforts,  and  plans  of  Bible  study.  For  eighteen  years  this 
monthly  has  appeared  regularly,  its  daily  Bible  notes  being  read  by 
thousands,  who  have  followed  with  great  profit  the  consecutive  course 
through  the  Bible,  under  Major  Whittle's  direction.  During  the  last 
months  of  Mr.  Moody's  life  he  took  a  still  deeper  interest  in  this  effort, 
and  arranged  to  make  this  magazine  a  special  organ  of  the  various 
institutions  he  had  founded. 

Mr.  Moody  was  always  fearful  lest  his  connection  with  some  publi- 
cation, either  of  the  hymn-book  or  public  sermons,  should  be  consid- 
ered as  a  money-making  scheme  on  his  part.  For  this  reason,  while 
it  was  imperative  that  he  should  have  a  hymn-book,  he  was  loath  to 
consent  to  any  authorized  edition  of  his  sermons.  These  were  pub- 
lished, sometimes  quite  fully  and'more  frequently  in  part,  in  the  daily 
press,  and  numerous  publishers  were  very  ready  to  adapt  these  to 
book  form,  so  that  "  Moody's  Sermons  "  appeared  in  every  conceiv- 
able shape  for  a  number  of  years  before  any  authorized  works  were 
issued. 

A  volume  of  sermons  resulted  from  each  of  his  first  series  of  meetings 
in  this  country.  The  meetings  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
Chicago,  and  other  leading  cities  were  reported  verbatim  by  one  or 
more  papers,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meetings  the  reports  were  col- 
lected in  a  large  volume.  Mr.  Moody,  however,  had  no  part  in  their 
compilation,  and  no  profits  accrued  to  him  or  his  work  from  their  sale, 
which  was  exceedingly  large. 

His  reluctance  to  sanction  any  volume  was  first" overcome  in  con- 
nection with  the  unpretentious  work  entitled  "  Twelve  Select  Ser- 
mons." This  was  issued  both  in  England  and  America,  but  for  several 
years  after  its  appearance  he  would  not  consent  to  give  his  approval  to 
the  publication  of  any  additional  compilation.  Convinced  at  last  of 
the  large  numbers  who  might  be  reached  by  this  means,  and  annoyed 
by  the  fragmentary  character  of  many  of  the  sermons  printed,  he  sup- 
plied other  small  volumes,  which  appeared  at  irregular  intervals. 
24 


430  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Altogether  there  have  been  issued  twenty-five  volumes,  in  addition  to 
single  sermons. 

One  of  his  early  publications  was  entitled  "  Heaven."  One  day  on 
the  railroad  train  he  heard  the  newsboy,  with  a  bundle  of  books  under 
his  arm,  shouting,  "  Here  you  are, '  Ingersoll  on  Hell '  !  "  He  caught 
the  boy,  and  placed  a  copy  of  his  own  book  in  his  hand,  saying, 
"  Here,  my  lad,  here  is  another  book ;  give  them  that  at  the  same 
time."  The  boy  went  on  through  the  car,  shouting,  "  '  Ingersoll  on 
Hell ' ;  '  Moody  on  Heaven ! '  '  Ingersoll  on  Hell ' ;  '  Moody  on 
Heaven ' ! " 

It  may  not  be  inappropriate  here  to  refer  to  Mr.  Moody's  attitude 
and  thought  regarding  the  late  well-known  and  gifted  agnostic. 

When  Colonel  Ingersoll  died,  in  the  summer  of  1899,  and  his  family 
were  overwhelmed  with  grief,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Confer- 
ence was  in  session  at  Northfield.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Moody  made 
his  first  public  allusion  to  Mr.  Ingersoll  when  he  said : 

"  Mr.  Ingersoll  and  I  started  out  in  life  about  the  same  time,  and 
in  the  same  State.  Of  course  I  have  been  interested  in  watching  his 
career,  but  I  have  never  mentioned  his  name  in  public  until  to-night, 
and  I  don't  believe  in  talking  about  a  man  after  his  death.  I  am  sorry 
for  his  wife  and  children,  for  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  kind  husband 
and  father,  and  I  don't  want  to  tear  open  that  wound.  My  feeling 
toward  him  has  always  been  that  of  deepest  pity,  for  a  life  like 
his  seems  so  barren  of  everything  that  has  made  my  life  joyous  and 
blessed. 

"  How  dark  must  be  the  life  of  a  man  for  whom,  by  his  own  con- 
fession, it  was  like  '  a  narrow  vale  between  the  peaks  of  two  eternities ; 
we  cry  aloud,  and  the  only  answer  is  the  echo  of  our  calling,'  and  for 
whom  death  seemed  like  '  a  leap  into  the  dark.'  How  different  from 
that  of  a  believer  in  Christ !  For  him  not  only  is  the  present  life  filled 
with  the  peace  of  God,  but  the  future  is  bright  with  hope.  He  knows 
that  for  him  death  is  only  the  exchanging  of  a  shifting  tent  for  an 
enduring  mansion.  How  much  Colonel  Ingersoll's  sorrowing  wife 


The  Use  of  the  Press  431 

and  daughters  need  our  prayers,  as  they  stand  by  the  still  body  of  their 
loved  one,  if  they  really  believe  the  hopeless  doctrine  he  taught !  " 

"  Do  you  believe  Mr.  Ingersoll's  influence  was  overrated?  "  asked 
a  friend. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  talk  about  it,"  answered  Mr.  Moody.  "  I  believe 
that  Ingersoll  was  driven  away  from  Christianity  by  the  abuse  of 
Christians.  He  was  railed  at  by  them,  and  he  saw  the  dark  side  of 
Christianity.  He  got  twisted  when  he  was  young." 

"  Do  you  believe  he  died  without  any  hope  of  the  future?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  I  don't  see  how  a  man  can  live  without  such  a 
hope.  It  must  be  terrible.  We  are  not  his  judges.  It  is  for  God  alone 
to  judge  him." 

Like  all  the  institutions  and  organizations  that  owe  their  birth  to 
Mr.  Moody,  the  Bible  Institute  Colportage  Association  grew  out  of 
a  need  that  he  observed  as  he  travelled  to  and  fro  in  his  evangelistic 
work.  He  was  holding  meetings  in  a  Western  town  in  the  fall  of 
1894,  and  wanted  some  books  to  give  away.  He  called  at  a  local 
bookstore,  but,  although  the  shelves  were  loaded  with  fiction  of  all 
kinds,  not  a  single  religious  book  could  be  had. 

This  caused  him  to  make  an  investigation,  and  he  discovered  that,  in 
one  of  the  great  States  of  the  Middle  West,  there  was  not  one  book- 
store that  pretended  to  carry  even  a  limited  assortment  of  religious 
books.  Determined  to  do  something  to  fill  the  gap  which  he  had 
discovered,  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  consulted  prominent  Chris- 
tian workers,  who  said,  "  People  won't  buy  religious  books;  they  are 
too  expensive." 

"  Then  their  price  must  come  down,"  said  Mr.  Moody.  The  only 
way  to  reduce  the  price,  without  working  on  a  charity  basis,  would 
be  by  printing  large  editions,  and  Mr.  Moody  organized  a  colportage 
department  in  connection  with  the  Bible  Institute,  his  Chicago  school 
for  the  training  of  Christian  workers. 

At  first,  ordinary  methods  were  adopted  to  bring  about  the  sale  of 
good  books,  the  main  thing  being  to  lower  the  prices.  In  the  spring 


432  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

of  1895,  however,  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  work  was  formulated 
and  put  into  execution.  It  was  difficult  to  get  just  the  books  that  were 
wanted,  and  Mr.  Moody  was  not  yet  satisfied  as  to  the  price.  It  was 
felt  that,  before  the  work  could  become  in  any  way  extensive,  a  class 
of  books  must  be  secured  that  it  was  impossible  at  that  time  to  obtain. 
The  Colportage  Library  was  therefore  planned  to  combine  these 
salient  features:  (i)  Popular,  readable  style;  (2)  well-known  authors, 
or  books  of  existing  reputation;  (3)  strictly  undenominational;  (4) 
first-class  workmanship;  (5)  low  price. 

An  order  for  one  hundred  thousand  copies  of  one  book — "  The  Way 
to  God  " — was  given  at  once.  Equally  large  editions  of  other  books 
have  been  ordered  since. 

So  rapid  was  the  growth  of  this  work  that,  in  four  years,  Mr.  Moody 
saw  it  spread  over  not  only  the  whole  continent,  but  to  foreign  lands. 
In  addition  to  the  English  editions,  there  are  in  the  library  books  in 
German,  Danish,  Norwegian,  and  Swedish,  and  there  are  requests  on 
file  for  translations  in  Spanish,  Polish,  Bohemian,  Dutch,  French,  and 
other  languages. 

In  1895  Mr-  Moody  heard,  to  his  amazement,  that  no  less  than 
three-quarters  of  a  million  men  and  women  in  this  country  belonged 
to  the  distinctively  criminal  class — that  is,  the  number  passing  con- 
tinuously in  and  out  of  jails  and  prisons.  He  could  scarcely  believe 
it  until  he  had  made  an  investigation.  With  him,  to  realize  the  need 
was  to  devise  methods  to  meet  it.  He  began  to  inspect  the  jails  and 
prisons  in  every  State  that  he  visited,  and  found  that  the  county  jails 
in  many  places  were  entirely  neglected.  Only  here  and  there  were 
Christian  people  found  who  took  any  interest  in  these  jails.  Libraries 
and  reading  matter  were  found  in  the  penitentiaries,  but  a  great  many 
jails  that  he  visited — among  others  one  containing  three  hundred 
prisoners — were  destitute  of  all  good  reading. 

When  he  asked  the  prisoners  if  there  was  anything  he  could  do  for 
them,  they  said  that  if  they  had  something  to  read  it  would  help  to 
kill  the  time.  In  answer  to  his  inquiry  if  they  would  read  sermons  or 


The  Use  of  the  Press  433 

religious  books,  they  replied  that  they  would,  and  he  sent  some  into 
that  prison.  There  were  among  them  those  who  could  not  read,  and 
they  insisted  that  those  who  could  should  read  aloud  to  them.  They 
read  Spurgeon's  and  other  sermons  that  he  sent,  and  before  long  Mr. 
Moody  began  to  hear  of  conversions.  Then  he  sent  Testaments,  and 
became  so  interested  that  he  began  to  write  to  the  sheriffs  of  all  the 
different  counties  (there  is  a  jail  in  nearly  every  one  of  the  twenty- 
seven  hundred  counties  in  this  country).  Of  all  the  letters  written, 
only  one  brought  a  disrespectful  reply. 

During  the  last  four  years  of  his  ministry  he  scarcely  ever  left  a 
town  without  making  a  special  plea  for  the  prisoners,  with  very  grati- 
fying results.  "  It  must  not  be  supposed,"  he  said,  "  that  all  prisoners 
are  hardened  criminals.  Many  a  young  man  has  committed  a  crime 
in  a  moment  of  anger,  or  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  The  records 
show  that  nearly  half  the  prisoners  are  under  twenty-five  years  of  age. 
At  this  time  of  life  a  young  man  is  not  supposed  to  have  become  settled 
in  character.  If  he  can  be  reached  by  the  gospel  message  before  he 
begins  to  sink  lower  and  lower,  there  is  every  hope  of  his  salvation  for 
this  life  and  the  life  to  come." 

Mr.  Moody's  sympathies  went  out  especially  to  the  prisoners  who 
are  kept  waiting  months  for  trial,  with  nothing  to  do.  In  some  States, 
after  they  reach  the  penitentiary,  the  men  are  denied  by  law  all  work 
that  competes  with  outside  labor.  The  prisoners  fear  idleness  more 
than  anything  else,  and  facts  prove  that  they  often  prefer  suicide  to 
life  under  such  conditions.  With  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  he 
believed  that  this  was  just  the  time  to  reach  a  man,  and  to  make  him 
think,  when  cut  off  from  old  associations,  and  away  from  whiskey  and 
gambling. 

"  That  is  what  you  want  to  get  a  man  to  do,"  he  said.  "  What 
brought  home  the  prodigal?  He  began  thinking.  These  prisoners 
begin  to  realize  what  wretched  lives  they  have  been  living,  and  this  is 
the  opportune  moment  to  strike  them.  They  are  glad  of  a  book  or 
paper  to  occupy  their  minds,  and  Christian  influences  may  be  brought 


434  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

to  bear  on  them  by  this  channel  and  their  whole  destiny  changed  for 
good.  What  we  propose  is  that  Christians  should  be  more  active  in 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  them  while  they  are  behind  the  bars.  If  it  were 
not  for  atheism  and  infidelity,  there  would  be  no  need  of  prisons.  It  is 
sin  that  is  at  the  root  of  the  matter ;  and  the  only  sure  cure  is  regenera- 
tion, a  new  heart,  and  a  new  life  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Mr.  Moody's  plan  was  to  get  people  sufficiently  interested  to  send 
one  book,  if  they  could  not  send  more,  and  then  follow  it  with  their 
prayers..  Hardly  a  day  passed,  after  he  began  this  work,  without  his 
hearing  of  definite  cases  of  conversion  and  blessing  through  such 
agencies, 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 
PREPARING  SERMONS 

"  \  T  7  ERE  one  asked  what,  on  the  human  side,  were  the  effective 
y  V  ingredients  in  Mr.  Moody's  sermons,  one  would  find  the 
answer  difficult,"  said  Henry  Drummond  in  describing 
his  friend  as  a  preacher.  "  Probably  the  foremost  is  the  tremendous 
conviction  with  which  they  are  uttered.  Next  to  that  come  their 
point  and  direction.  Every  blow  is  straight  from  the  shoulder,  and 
every  stroke  tells.  Whatever  canons  they  violate,  whatever  faults  the 
critics  may  find  with  their  art,  with  their  rhetoric,  or  even  with  their 
theology,  as  appeals  to  the  people  they  do  their  work  with  extraor- 
dinary power.  If  eloquence  is  measured  by  its  effects  upon  an  audi- 
ence, and  not  by  its  balanced  sentences  and  cumulative  periods,  then 
there  is  eloquence  of  the  highest  order  in  them.  In  sheer  persuasive- 
ness Mr.  Moody  has  few  equals,  and,  rugged  as  his  preaching  may 
seem  to  some,  there  are  in  it  pathos  of  a  quality  which  few  orators  have 
ever  reached,  and  an  appealing  tenderness  which  not  only  redeems 
but  raises  it,  not  unseldom,  almost  to  sublimity.  No  report  can  do 
the  faintest  justice  to  this  or  to  the  other  most  characteristic  qualities 
of  his  public  speech.  Take  this  extract : 

"'I  can  imagine  that  when  Christ  said  to  the  little  band  around  Him, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel,"  Peter  said,  "  Lord, 
do  You  really  mean  that  we  are  to  go  back  to  Jerusalem  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  those  men  that  murdered  You  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  Christ,  "  go 
hunt  up  that  man  that  spat  in  My  face;  tell  him  that  he  may  have  a 
seat  in  My  Kingdom  yet.  Yes,  Peter,  go  find  that  man  that  made  that 


438  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

cruel  crown  of  thorns  and  placed  it  on  My  brow,  and  tell  him  I  will 
have  a  crown  ready  for  him  when  he  comes  into  My  Kingdom,  and 
there  will  be  no  thorns  in  it.  Hunt  up  that  man  that  took  a  reed  and 
brought  it  down  over  the  cruel  thorns,  driving  them  into  My  brow, 
and  tell  him  I  will  put  a  scepter  in  his  hand,  and  he  shall  rule  over  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  if  he  will  accept  salvation.  Search  for  the  man 
that  drove  the  spear  into  My  side,  and  tell  him  there  is  a  nearer  way 
to  My  heart  than  that.  Tell  him  I  forgive  him  freely,  and  that  he  can 
be  saved  if  he  will  accept  salvation  as  a  gift."  ' 

"  Prepared  or  impromptu,  what  dramatist  could  surpass  that  touch : 
*  Tell  him  there  is  a  nearer  way  to  My  heart  than  that '  ?  " 

For  years  Mr.  Moody  never  expected  to  do  any  more  in  the  way 
of  preaching  than  to  give  five-  or  ten-minute  addresses  to  his  Sabbath- 
school  children.  By  and  by  he  procured  a  copy  of  the  "  Topical  Text- 
book "  as  a  help  in  Bible  study,  and  began  to  prepare  an  address  on 
the  Bible.  This  was  the  subject  of  the  first  attempt  at  a  Bible  reading. 
His  method  was  simple,  and  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  case.  He 
would  call  upon  some  one  in  the  audience  to  read  a  certain  text.  This 
would  give  him  time  to  collect  his  thoughts,  and  he  would  then  say  a 
few  words  or  relate  an  anecdote  to  light  up  the  text.  When  he  found 
himself  running  dry,  he  would  call  for  another  text  to  be  read,  and  on 
this  he  would  offer  a  few  comments  in  a  similar  fashion.  When  his 
audiences  became  larger,  so  that  he  had  to  read  the  text  himself,  he  had 
to  make  better  preparation  beforehand  as  there  was  less  opportunity 
for  impromptu  comment. 

These  "  Bible  readings  "  were  given  in  the  home  circle  of  his  friend, 
D.  W.  McWilliams,  of  Brooklyn.  Conducting,  as  he  was  at  the  time, 
a  series  of  evangelistic  meetings  in  the  Cumberland  Street  chapel  of 
the  Lafayette  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  a  lady  of  the  congregation 
asked  him  to  help  them  to  understand  better  the  leading  doctrines  of 
the  Bible.  For  this  purpose  Mr.  Moody  met,  quite  informally,  a  few 
interested  friends.  Mr.  McWilliams'  drawing-room  was  the  place  of 
gathering.  The  method  of  study  was  quite  new  to  all,  even  to  the 


Preparing  Sermons  43 9 

leader.  A  theme  was  taken,  or  a  single  word,  such  as  grace,  hope, 
adoption,  assurance,  love,  etc.  The  Bible  was  searched  by  means  of  con- 
cordance and  topical  text-book  for  all  passages  bearing  on  the  theme. 
These  were  emphasized  and  illustrated.  None  were  more  impressed 
with  the  wonderful  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  by  the  Scriptures 
than  Mr.  Moody.  This  plan  gave  a  new  direction  to  his  study  and  his 
preaching. 

"  At  this  time  "  (February,  1872),  says  Dr.  Cuyler,  "  he  had  not 
become  much  known  in  Brooklyn.  The  weather  was  severely  cold; 
the  attendance  was  very  small,  but  my  wife  and  daughter  reported  to 
me  that  Mr.  Moody's  quickening  addresses  made  them  a  spiritual  feast. 
One  evening  I  attended  the  meeting  (there  were  not  over  thirty  or 
forty  present),  and  after  it  was  over  I  said  to  him : 

' '  Brother  Moody,  this  seems  rather  slow  work.' 

'  Very  true,'  replied  my  sagacious  brother;  '  it  is  slow,  but  if  you 
want  to  kindle  a  fire  you  collect  a  handful  of  pine  whittlings,  light 
them  with  a  match,  and  keep  blowing  until  they  blaze.  Then  you  may 
pile  on  the  wood.  So  I  am  working  here,  with  a  handful  of  Christians, 
endeavoring  to  warm  them  up  with  love  for  Christ,  and  if  they  get 
well  warmed,  a  revival  will  come  and  sinners  will  be  converted.'  He 
was  right ;  the  revival  did  come ;  it  spread  through  the  Lafayette  Ave- 
nue congregation,  and  a  large  number  of  converts  made  their  public 
confession  of  Christ  before  our  communion  table. 

"  That  happy  experience  in  that  little  chapel  found  mention  in  sev- 
eral religious  papers,  and  taught  many  ministers  the  secret  of  kindling 
a  flame  by  the  breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

The  acquaintance  formed  at  this  time  with  Rev.  Dr.  Theodore  L. 
Cuyler  ripened  into  a  warm  and  lifelong  friendship.  When  Mr, 
Moody  decided  to  go  to  Scotland,  he  suggested  that  a  note  of  introduc- 
tion might  be  of  service.  Dr.  Cuyler  sent  a  hearty  letter  to  Dr.  An- 
drew A.  Bonar,  of  Glasgow,  which  was  published  in  the  newspapers 
of  the  city. 

"  As  I  look  back  now  to  that  incident,"  says  Dr.  Cuyler,  "  it  seems 


440  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

about  as  amusing  as  if  Paul  had  asked  for  a  note  of  introduction  from 
some  brother  at  Jerusalem,  in  order  to  gain  a  fair  hearing  at  Corinth 
or  Athens.  Nowhere  did  Moody  and  Sankey  do  a  more  glorious 
work  than  in  dear  old  Scotland." 

During  the  brief  visit  to  England  in  1872,  following  this  experience 
in  Brooklyn,  these  Bible  readings  were  repeated  in  a  few  modest  public 
gatherings.  Returning  to  Chicago,  Mr.  Moody  was  anxious  to  repeat 
these  "  readings  "  in  his  own  city.  How  this  came  about  is  interest- 
ingly told  by  Mrs.  E.  P.  Goodwin,  wife  of  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  who  says : 

"  Mr.  Moody  began  his  Bible  readings  in  our  church  in  Chicago. 
The  circumstances  were  these :  We  had  heard  of  his  Bible  readings 
given  with  success  in  England  and  New  York.  Therefore,  commis- 
sioned by  Mr.  Goodwin,  I  went  to  ask  Mr.  Moody  if  he  would  give  a 
series  in  our  church.  He  met  me  at  the  door,  hat  in  hand,  and  invited 
me  into  the  parlor.  I  made  known  my  errand.  He  was  much  agitated, 
and,  with  tears  streaming  down  his  face,  he  replied,  '  Mrs.  Goodwin,  I 
had  taken  my  hat  to  go  over  to  Dr.  Goodwin,  and  see  if  he  would 
let  me  give  some  readings.  I  lived  in  Chicago  many  years,  knowing 
but  one  truth,  and  thinking  that  the  only  necessary  one,  ignoring  all 
related  truths,  till  I  built  up  a  wall  of  prejudice  all  around  me.  I  didn't 
know  that  there  was  a  minister  in  Chicago  who  would  let  me  into  his 
church,  but  I  thought  I  would  try  Dr.  Goodwin.'  " 

A  series  of  twelve  lectures  was  given,  with  the  following  subjects : 


Tues.,  Oct.  22— "Love."  Tues.,  Nov.  26 — "What     Christ 

Tues.,  Oct.  29 — "  Blood."  Is  to  Us." 

Wed,  Oct.  30—"  Prayer."  Tues.,  Dec.     3—"  Grace." 

Tues.,  Nov.    5— "Faith."  Tues.,  Dec.    10— "  Believing." 

Wed.,  Nov.    6 — "Promise."  Tues,  Dec.    17 — "Walking  with 

Tues,  Nov.  12 — "  Assurance."  God." 

Tues,  Nov.  19— "  Holy  Ghost."  Wed,  Dec.   18— "  Heaven." 


Preparing  Sermons  441 

The  lectures  were  in  large  part  new,  and  Mr.  Moody  had  worked 
assiduously  on  them.  He  was  at  white  heat.  The  effect  was  electric. 
It  seemed  that  he  must  have  surpassed  himself  at  each  lecture,  and 
that  he  could  not  again  be  lifted  to  equal  fervor.  While  preparing  the 
lecture  upon  "  Grace  "  he  became  so  excited  that  he  seized  his  hat, 
went  out  into  the  street,  and  accosted  the  first  man  he  met  with  the 
abrupt  question,  "  Do  you  know  what  grace  is?  " 

At  the  close  of  this  series  another  course  was  arranged  to  be  held 
in  the  Third  Presbyterian  Chapel,  Dr.  A.  E.  Kittredge  pastor;  and 
subsequently  another  series,  enlisting  a  union  of  the  churches  of  the 
West  Side,  at  the  Union  Park  Church,  Dr.  F.  A.  Noble's. 

Mr.  Moody  was  an  untiring  Bible  student.  He  usually  rose  about 
daybreak  in  summer,  in  order  to  have  a  quiet  season  alone  with  his 
Bible  and  his  God,  while  his  mind  was  fresh,  and  before  the  activities 
of  the  day  divided  his  attention.  The  walls  of  his  library  are  filled  from 
floor  to  ceiling  with  well-filled  shelves.  He  used  to  say  it  was  worth 
going  a  thousand  miles  to  get  a  good  thought.  With  what  keenness 
he  listened  to  other  preachers  for  good  thoughts  and  illustrations,  and 
how  his  face  lit  up  as  he  took  out  the  notebook  which  he  kept  in  his 
hip-pocket !  He  urged  this  habit  of  making  notes  of  all  the  good 
things  one  read  and  heard,  believing  that  it  would  make  the  Bible 
more  deeply  interesting  day  by  day.  He  never  really  changed  his 
method  of  making  sermons,  which  was  as  follows : 

Having  decided  to  prepare  an  address  on  any  text  or  topic— he  pre- 
ferred to  use  subjects  mostly — he  first  took  a  large  envelope,  and  on 
the  outside  wrote  the  title  or  reference :  "  Heaven,"  "  Psalm  xxiii.," 
"  Backsliders,"  "  Let  the  wicked  forsake,"  "  How  to  deal  with  in- 
quirers," etc. 

Many  people  wished  to  learn  the  secret  of  his  sermon-making. 
"  I  have  no  secret,"  he  said  to  a  body  of  young  men.  "  I  study  more 
by  subjects  than  I  do  by  texts.  If,  when  I  am  reading,  I  meet  a  good 
thing  on  any  of  these  subjects,  I  slip  it  into  the  right  envelope 
and  let  it  lie  there.  I  always  carry  a  notebook,  and  if  I  hear  anything 


442  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

in  a  sermon  that  will  throw  light  on  that  subject,  I  put  it  down,  and 
slip  it  into  the  envelope.  Perhaps  I  let  it  lie  for  a  year  or  more.  When 
I  want  a  new  sermon,  I  take  everything  that  has  been  accumulating. 
Between  what  I  find  there  and  the  results  of  my  own  study  I  have 
material  enough. 

"  Then  I  am  all  the  time  going  over  my  sermons,  taking  out  a  little 
here  and  adding  a  little  there.  In  that  way  they  never  get  very  old. 
I  am  never  ashamed  to  repeat  a  sermon.  A  great  many  people  are 
afraid  to  repeat.  I  heard  of  a  man  who  preached  a  sermon  that  he  had 
given  a  good  many  times  before,  and  when  he  had  finished  another 
preacher  said  to  him : 

" '  I  have  heard  you  preach  that  sermon  at  least  five  times  in  the 
last  five  years,  and  I  know  it  by  heart.'  Said  the  other : 

"  '  I  heard  you  preach  five  years  ago,  and  I  can't  remember  any- 
thing you  said.' 

"  If  you  have  got  a  sermon  that  is  really  good  for  anything,  pass 
it  round.  If  the  Lord  blesses  it  here  to-night,  why  can't  He  bless  it 
ten  miles  away,  or  ten  years  hence?  Study  by  subjects,  and  get  so 
full  of  your  subject  that  all  you  need  to  do  is  to  stand  up  and  say  as 
much  as  you  can  within  the  time.  On  some  subjects  I  think  I  could 
speak  without  any  difficulty  for  eight,  or  nine,  or  ten  nights.  When 
I  began  I  couldn't  speak  more  than  five  minutes.  Then  I  would  speak 
for  jive  minutes  and  sit  down.  By  and  by  I  got  so  that  I  could  speak 
for  fifteen  minutes. 

"  If  any  one  were  to  ask  me  when  I  began  to  preach  I  couldn't  tell 
him.  I  began  with  the  children.  By  and  by  they  brought  their 
parents.  Then  I  noticed  that  about  half  the  audience  were  adults. 

"  I  like  to  work  up  a  Bible  character.  When  I  get  hold  of  a  man 
who  is  versed  in  the  Word  of  God,  I  just  pump  him.  It  is  a  great 
privilege  to  have  the  thoughts  that  these  men  have  been  digging  for 
all  their  lives." 

Hundreds  of  his  sermon  envelopes  are  in  his  study — many  of  them 
showing  signs  of  frequent  use,  many  representing  sermons  in  embryo. 


Preparing  Sermons  443 

When  he  wished  to  preach  on  a  certain  subject,  he  ran  through  the 
envelope  of  clippings,  and  selected  such  points  and  anecdotes  as  he 
wished  to  use  on  that  occasion.  Weaving  these  into  an  outline,  he 
wrote  out  catchwords,  and  fastened  the  sheets  into  his  Bible  by  means 
of  elastic  bands. 

This  method  of  making  sermons  he  found  to  possess  many  advan- 
tages. It  gave  him  full  opportunity  for  impromptu  speaking,  since' 
he  was  not  bound  hard  and  fast  to  a  written  manuscript.  Many  of 
Mr.  Moody's  best  and  most  often-quoted  sayings  were  impromptu. 
He  always  insisted  that  what  the  church  needs  is  "  men  who  can  think 
on  their  heels." 

He  must  have  repeated  some  of  his  sermons  hundreds  of  times, 
but  they  always  sounded  fresh  to  the  hearer.  Undoubtedly  the  secret 
lay  partly  in  the  nature  of  his  subject,  partly  in  the  freshness  of  his 
delivery;  but  credit  must  also  be  given  to  his  method  of  sermon- 
making,  which  permitted  a  flexibility  of  outline  that  meant  continual 
change  in  the  substance  of  his  address,  and  to  the  order  in  which  his 
points  and  anecdotes  were  marshalled. 

There  are  three  books  which  Mr.  Moody  advised  every  Christian 
to  procure :  (i)  A  good  substantial  copy  of  the  Bible,  with  large,  clear 
print;  (2)  Cruden's  "Concordance,"  and  (3)  the  "Topical  Text-book." 

We  have  already  seen  how  he  turned  to  this  last  when  preparing 
for  Bible  readings.  He  always  kept  one  at  hand  in  his  study,  with  a 
concordance,  though  he  had  been  a  Christian  five  years  before  he 
heard  of  the  latter.  Shortly  after  his  conversion  a  sceptic  in  Boston 
was  arguing  with  him,  and  Moody  tried  to  defend  the  Bible  and  Chris- 
tianity. The  sceptic  made  a  misquotation;  Moody  said  it  was  not  in 
the  Bible,  and  he  hunted  for  days  and  days  to  prove  the  sceptic  wrong. 
He  realized  then  that  if  he  had  a  concordance  he  could  have  found  the 
passage  in  question  in  a  few  moments. 

Mr.  Moody's  Bibles  are  among  the  most  precious  treasures  that  he 
has  left  behind.  He  had  a  large  number — upward  of  a  score — in  con- 
stant use.  In  his  study  are  to  be  seen  several  that  have  been  almost 


444  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

worn  out;  leaves  loose  and  ragged-edged,  but  invaluable  because  of 
the  notes  and  suggestions  written  on  the  margins  and  blank  spaces. 
He  had  a  dozen  "  interleaved  "  Bibles — that  is,  Bibles  in  which  every 
other  page  is  left  blank  for  inserting  notes  and  comments  upon  the 
Scriptures.  Mr.  Moody  found  that  notebooks  and  clippings  accumu- 
late quickly,  and  are  likely  to  be  laid  aside  and  never  referred  to  again. 
He  therefore  adopted  these  interleaved  Bibles,  where  notes  are  always 
at  hand.  From  these  he  used  to  give  out  "  nuggets  "  at  his  meetings, 
and  when  his  friends  borrowed  a  Bible  in  order  to  copy  the  notes,  they 
were  expected  to  write  some  "  nuggets  "  of  their  own  before  returning 
them. 

"  Don't  be  afraid  to  borrow  or  lend  Bibles,"  he  used  to  say.  "  Some 
time  ago  a  man  wanted  to  take  my  Bible  home  to  get  a  few  things  out 
of  it,  and  when  it  came  back  I  found  these  notes  in  it : 

"  'Justification,  a  change  of  state,  a  new  standing  before  God. 
1  Repentance,  a  change  of  mind,  a  new  mind  about  God. 
'  Regeneration,  a  change  of  nature,  a  new  heart  from  God. 
'Conversion,  a  change  of  life,  a  new  life  for  God. 
'  Adoption,  a  change  of  family,  a  new  relationship  toward  God. 
'  Sanctification,  a  change  of  service,  separation  unto  God. 
•Glorification,  a  change  of  condition,  at  home  \vith  God.' 

"  In  the  same  handwriting  I  found  these  lines: 

"  'Jesus  only  : 

'  The  light  of  Heaven  is  the  face  of  Jesus. 
•The  joy  of  Heaven  is  the  presence  of  Jesus. 
'The  melody  of  Heaven  is  the  name  of  Jesus. 
•The  harmony  of  Heaven  is  the  praise  of  Jesus. 
'The  theme  of  Heaven  is  the  work  of  Jesus. 
•The  employment  of  Heaven  is  the  service  of  Jesus. 
•The  fulness  of  Heaven  is  Jesus  Himself. 
'The  duration  of  Heaven  is  the  eternity  of  Jesus."  " 

Of  all  the  volumes  he  possessed  he  prized  most  highly  a  large  pulpit 
Bible  that  contains  the  following  inscription: 


BETSY  MOODY  COTTAGE,  NORTHFIEI.D  SEMINARY. 


THE  "REVELL":  FIRST  PERMANENT  BUILDING  ERECTED  FOR  SEMINARY 
PURPOSES. 


THI-:  NORTHFIHLD  CHURCH. 


"THE  NORTHFIELD  "  HOTEL. 


Preparing  Sermons  447 

"  MR.  D.  L,  MOODY,  from  MRS.  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

"  In  tender  memory  of  the  beloved  one  gone  home  to  God.  This 
Bible  has  been  used  by  my  beloved  husband,  and  is  now  given  with 
unfeigned  pleasure  to  one  in  whose  hands  its  service  will  be  continued 
and  extended. 

"  S.  SPURGEON. 

"  Westwood,  London,  Nov.  20,  1892." 

This  is  the  original  Bible  in  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  kept  track  of  his 
sermons  as  they  were  printed.  By  means  of  red-ink  entries  in  the 
margin,  he  knew  at  once  in  what  volume  or  magazine  any  sermon 
might  be  found.  It  was  not  the  Bible  Mr.  Spurgeon  used  daily,  but 
Mrs.  Spurgeon  transcribed  the  inscription  from  that  one  and  pasted  it 
in  the  fly-leaf  of  the  copy  she  gave  Mr.  Moody.  It  reads  as  follows : 

"  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

"  The  lamp  of  my  study.     1858. 

"  The  light  is  as  bright  as  ever.     1861. 

"  Oh  that  mine  eyes  were  more  opened !     1864. 

"  Being  worn  to  pieces,  rebound  1870.  The  lantern  mended  and 
the  light  as  joyous  to  mine  eyes  as  ever." 

After  Spurgeon's  Bible  came  into  Mr.  Moody's  possession,  to- 
gether with  a  complete  set  of  his  sermons,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
turning  to  it  first  to  see  if  Spurgeon  had  preached  on  any  part  he  was 
then  studying. 
25 


CHAPTER    XXXIX 
ASKING  AND  ANSWERING  QUESTIONS 

MR.  MOODY  was  a  born  teacher.  He  was  also  a  great  learner. 
His  capacity  for  drawing  out  information  from  people  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact  was  marvellous.  If  driving  about 
a  new  place,  he  never  rested  till  he  had  found  out  all  he  could  about 
the  country  and  the  people,  especially  their  spiritual  condition.  If 
with  a  minister,  he  would  have  the  best  that  that  man  could  give  him 
regarding  the  passages  of  Scripture  which  were  especially  in  his 
mind  at  the  time.  Early  in  his  public  speaking  he  would  gather 
around  him  Bible  teachers,  evangelists,  and  pastors,  secure  their  best 
thoughts  on  some  subject  upon  which  he  was  to  speak,  and  then  go 
directly  from  such  a  conference  to  a  meeting  to  deliver  a  heart-search- 
ing sermon,  the  actual  material  for  which  he  had  secured  from  his 
friends,  absorbed,  and  made  his  own.  In  answer  to  an  inquiry  how 
far  a  young  man  was  at  liberty  to  use  other  men's  thoughts,  he  re- 
plied :  "  Always  give  due  credit  if  you  can,  and  if  you  can't,  or  if  you 
don't  want  to  mention  the  man's  name,  say,  '  Some  one  has  said.' 
Don't  be  afraid  of  using  other  men's  thoughts.  The  chances  are  that 
the  man  you  get  it  from  read  it  in  some  other  form.  There  is  prac- 
tically very  little  that  is  original,  and  it's  better  to  give  the  best  of 
others'  thoughts  than  what  is  poor,  even  if  it  is  original." 

In  Sunday-school  conventions,  in  Christian  work,  in  revival  meet- 
ings, in  conferences,  and  in  hi.s  schools  he  set  apart  times  for  answer- 
ing questions.  Sometimes  he  would  sit  on  the  platform  and  put  a 
leading  clergyman  in  the  witness-box  and  question  him  steadily  for 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  449 

an  hour,  to  the  great  edification  and  spiritual  refreshment  of  the 
audience.  Again,  he  would  himself  be  the  witness  and  let  the  audi- 
ence try  their  hand  at  questioning.  In  order  that  the  time  might  not 
be  consumed  with  foolish  questions,  or  with  those  which  were  asked 
for  the  sake  of  discussion  rather  than  profit,  he  insisted  that  they 
should  be  submitted  in  writing.  Frequently  conferences  were  held 
at  the  close  of  each  revival  meeting,  where  Christian  workers  could 
find  out  how  to  carry  on  evangelistic  work  in  their  own  churches. 

The  following  practical  questions  and  helpful  answers  illustrate 
this  phase  of  his  teaching : 

Q.  "  What  more  can  be  done  against  intemperance?  " 
A.  "  It  would  take  all  day  to  answer  that.  There  are  two  sides  in 
this  matter,  and  I  want  to  give  a  rap  at  both.  I  think  every  Christian 
church  ought  to  be  a  temperance  society.  Look  at  the  men  who 
are  stumbling  over  this  great  evil,  going  down  to  a  drunkard's  grave ! 
I  am  a  total  abstainer ;  have  never  touched  liquor,  and  never  intend 
to  do  so.  I  am  able  to  do  a  day's  work  without  it. 

"Now  for  the  other  side.  I  think  the  temperance  man  makes  a 
great  mistake  who  always  harps  on  that  one  question.  Everything 
in  its  own  place.  If  I  go  to  prayer-meeting  I  don't  want  to  hear 
incessantly  about  temperance  or  the  higher  Christian  life.  We  have 
a  man  in  our  city  who  comes  to  our  prayer-meetings  every  day,  and 
it  doesn't  matter  what  our  subject  isr  he  always  gets  up  and  talks  on 
the  higher  life.  And  so  with  temperance.  Only  when  you  get  a 
chance  for  a  word  slip  it  in ;  give  strong  drink  a  rap." 

Q.  "How  about  temperance  meetings  Sunday  evenings?" 
A.  "  I  wouldn't  have  a  temperance  meeting  on  Sunday  night.  I 
would  hold  Sunday  evening  sacred  to  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the 
Son  of  God.  In  the  Bible  you  have  any  quantity  of  subjects,  but  if 
you  undertake  to  preach  temperance  sermons  once  a  week  the  people 
will  get  tired  of  it.  The  Gospel  covers  temperance  and  everything 
else.  A  great  many  will  not  come  to  a  temperance  meeting,  but  they 
will  come  to  a  gospel  meeting,  and  may  get  temperance  thrown  in. 


45o  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Q.  "  How  can  we  make  our  prayer-meetings  more  interest- 
ing ?  " 

A.  "  Well,  be  more  interesting  yourself;  that  is  one  way.  I  have 
seen  many  meetings  just  murdered,  the  life  taken  out  of  them,  by 
the  leader.  There  is  a  way  of  going  into  a  meeting  by  which  you 
may  do  this.  Go  in  with  your  coat  buttoned  up,  looking  at  no  one; 
do  not  use  your  natural  voice,  and  be  as  stiff  as  you  can.  Begin  by 
saying  you  have  nothing  to  say,  and  then  talk  for  half  an  hour.  If 
the  meeting  isn't  dead  then,  I  am  a  false  prophet.  Then  get  up  and 
scold  the  people  for  not  taking  part  after  you  have  thrown  the 
meeting  open.  For  my  own  part,  I  don't  know  why  we  should  go 
into  church  in  that  cold,  formal  way.  When  we  go  to  church,  why 
not  take  a  man  by  the  hand,  throw  off  the  stiffness,  and  make  every- 
body feel  at  home?" 

Q.  "If  the  pastor  of  a  church  does  not  favor  evangelistic  work, 
what  can  a  layman  do,  besides  praying,  to  promote  the  spiritual 
work?" 

A.  "  I  should  do  a  great  deal  more  than  pray.  I  believe  the  time 
has  come  for  the  laymen  to  move;  and  by  'laymen'  I  mean  men  and 
women.  If  you  can't  work  in  the  church,  don't  leave  it,  but  go  out 
and  hold  cottage  meetings.  In  the  country  get  the  schoolhouse; 
that  is  a  magnificent  place  to  work.  If  the  school  board  prohibits 
the  use  of  the  schoolhouse,  hold  meetings  on  a  hilltop.  That  is  what 
Christ  did.  Pray  God  to  fill  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  Nothing  can 
stop  a  man  who  is  red  hot  and  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  we  cannot 
get  the  people  to  come  to  church,  let  us  go  into  their  homes. 

"  I  believe  that  a  man  or  woman  who  is  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God 
can  gain  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  can  have  conversions 
anywhere  and  everywhere.  There  is  a  class  of  people  who  don't 
believe  in  revivals  and  in  what  we  call  conversions.  Don't  quarrel 
with  them,  but  go  right  to  work  and  have  conversions.  A  man  who 
hides  his  talent  under  a  napkin,  and,  because  his  pastor  is  opposed  to 
evangelistic  meetings,  goes  through  life  praying  for  his  church  once 


MEETING  OF  THE  COLLEGE  STUDENTS  ON  ROUND  TOP 


MELTING  OF  THE  COLLEGE  GIRLS  ON  ROUND  TOP 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  453 

a  week,  or  once  a  month,  to  ease  his  conscience,  is  on  the  wrong 
track." 

Q.  "  Would  you  advise  a  pastor  to  hold  an  evangelistic  meeting 
every  Sunday  night  ?  " 

A.  "  I  would  hold  an  evangelistic  service  fifty-two  Sundays  in  the 
year.  Sunday  night  is  better  than  any  other  time,  because  a  great 
many  never  get  out  except  on  Sunday  night.  Workingmen  and 
mechanics  don't  have  any  other  time,  and  if  you  don't  reach  them 
Sunday  night  you  won't  reach  them  at  all.  Most  of  the  church  audi- 
ences on  Sunday  morning  are  made  up  of  Christian  people,  and  that 
is  the  time  when  ministers  ought  to  feed  the  flock  and  build  up  the 
church.  If  they  are  fed  properly  all  the  members  become  preachers 
themselves,  and  instead  of  the  minister  having  one  meeting  Sunday 
night  there  will  be  twenty.  Within  five  miles  of  Round  Top  every 
Sunday  night  we  have  ten  or  twelve  gospel  meetings  when  we  are 
in  running  order.  I  believe  this  can  be  done  all  through  the  United 
States. 

"  I  heard  of  a  minister  who  said  to  a  judge  in  his  congregation :  '  I 
am  going  out  to  a  schoolhouse  to  preach;  you  have  horses,  and  I 
want  you  to  drive  me  out.'  The  judge  said  that  he  would  be  very 
glad  to  do  so.  On  the  way  the  minister  said : '  Judge,  I  am  going  to 
ask  you  to  speak.' 

"  'Oh,'  said  the  judge,  'I  couldn't  do  that.' 

"  '  But,'  said  the  minister,  '  I  was  in  the  court  the  other  day,  and  I 
never  heard  anything  better  than  the  charge  you  gave  to  the  jury.' 

"  The  minister  had  some  tact,  and  when  he  went  on  to  the  plat- 
form he  said :  '  Now,  I  am  going  to  pray  and  read  a  portion  of  the 
Scripture,  and  then  I  am  going  to  put  the  judge  in  the  witness-box 
and  examine  him.'  He  asked  the  questions,  and  the  judge  preached 
the  whole  sermon.  Our  judges  and  our  lawyers  are  spoiling  for 
work.  It  wouldn't  take  long  to  evangelize  this  country  if  we  could 
only  get  the  pews  into  the  pulpit,  but  the  ministers  can  never  do  it 
alone." 


454  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Q.  "Would  you  have  a  stated  after-meeting  every  Sunday 
night?" 

A.  "Yes;  every  time  I  preached  the  Gospel  I  would  look  for  re- 
sults. There  are  three  or  four  kinds  of  meetings.  When  we  come 
around  the  Lord's  table,  that  is  worship.  When  we  expound  the 
Bible,  that  is  to  feed  the  Church  of  God.  But  when  we  invite  men 
to  come  to  God,  then  we  ought  to  expect  that  they  will  come  right 
then  and  there." 

Q.  "  How  would  you  conduct  an  after-meeting?  " 

A.  "  I  never  would  conduct  it  fifty-two  Sundays  alike.  There  are 
very  few  men  who  could  do  that  successfully.  If  the  sermon  is  over 
at  half-past  eight,  when  the  audience  expected  to  stay  until  nine, 
they  are  in  good  mood  to  stay  a  half  hour  longer.  There  are  two 
ways  of  inviting  people  to  stay  to  an  after-meeting.  One  is,  to  send 
them  all  home.  The  benediction  is  a  polite  invitation  for  people  to 
go.  I  wouldn't  pronounce  any  benediction,  at  the  first  meeting,  and 
I  wouldn't  say,  'If  any  are  concerned  about  their  soul  they  are  in- 
vited to  stay.'  You  stick  an  'if  four  feet  high  before  them,  and  it 
will  take  an  earthquake  to  move  them  into  an  inquiry-room.  When 
I  was  converted  it  took  three  months  to  screw  up  my  courage  to  be 
examined  by  a  committee  to  be  taken  into  the  church.  You  might 
as  well  try  to  get  a  man  to  go  before  a  justice  of  the  peace.  I  would 
say,  '  Now,  we  are  going  to  have  a  second  meeting,  and  if  any  one 
must  go,  won't  you  just  slip  out  while  we  are  singing?  '  I  would  put 
it  as  though  I  expected  no  one  to  go." 

Q.  "  Do  you  believe  it  is  a  good  thing  to  use  a  stereopticon  on 
Sunday  night?" 

A.  "  I  wouldn't  do  it.  because  every  Sunday  night  I  would  hold  an 
after-meeting  for  inquirers,  and  I  couldn't  do  that  very  well  after  a 
stereopticon  lecture.  Those  lectures  may  do  very  well  on  a  week- 
day night,  but  Sunday  evening  I  hold  sacred  to  proclaiming 
the  Gospel  in  all  its  simplicity  and  following  it  witn  an  after- 
meeting." 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  455 

Q.  "  How  can  a  minister  have  special  meetings  when  he  has  failed 
to  get  an  evangelist?" 

A.  "There  is  a  plan  that  is  working  very  well  in  England  and  in 
some  parts  of  this  country.  Let  a  minister  who  has  special  evangel- 
istic gifts  give  two  weeks  to  a  brother  minister,  and  let  that  brother 
minister  preach  for  him  the  Sunday  between.  Then  that  minister 
has'  two  weeks  in  which  he  can  go  all  through  his  parish  and  invite 
people  out  that  perhaps  he  wouldn't  like  to  ask  to  come  to  hear  him- 
self. He  can  get  his  whole  church  to  work  in  the  same  way.  Then, 
if  people  are  converted,  the  church  members  will  be  more  likely  to 
look  after  them  than  if  there  had  been  some  great  union  meeting. 
That  plan  helps  the  minister  who  has  been  preaching,  too.  He  goes 
back  to  his  own  church  all  on  fire,  and  preaches  to  his  people  with 
new  interest. 

"A  series  of  meetings  is  a  good  thing,  because  if  a  man  is  awak- 
ened on  Sunday,  and  there  is  to  be  a  meeting  on  Monday,  he  is 
likely  to  come;  and  the  impression  is  deepened;  on  Tuesday  it  grows 
deeper,  and  Wednesday  or  Thursday  he  will  attend  the  after-meeting. 
I  think  if  that  could  be  done,  many  a  church  would  double  its  mem- 
bership right  off.  It  is  perfectly  feasible.  Let  a  minister  go  away 
for  ten  days  and  preach  the  best  sermons  he  has.  He  has  nothing 
to  do  but  to  pray  and  meditate  and  study,  while  the  other  minister 
with  his  members  is  out  gathering  the  people." 

Q.  "Would  you  advise  a  young  man  to  go  into  the  ministry?" 

A.  "  Never.  If  God  calls  a  man,  all  right;  but  I  have  seen  too 
many  man-made  ministers.  If  a  man  is  called  by  God,  he  will  suc- 
ceed; but  if  he  is  sent  by  man,  he  will  fail.  I  should  advise  every  man 
to  engage  in  Christian  work,  but  not  to  give  up  all  other  occupations 
and  live  by  the  pulpit.  All  are  called  to  be  disciples  and  witnesses, 
but  there  needs  to  be  a  special  call  to  be  an  apostle." 

Q.  "  Is  it  a  good  thing  for  a  minister  to  study  elocution  ?  " 

A.  "  Yes  and  no.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  learn  to  read  well.  But 
when  it  comes  to  modern  elocution,  these  studied  gestures  in  the  pul- 


456  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

pit my  word,  I  am  tired  and  sick  of  them  !  Some  men  remind  me  of 

a  windmill,  with  their  practised  gestures.  How  would  Moses  have 
succeeded  if  he  had  gone  down  into  Egypt  and  tried  elocution  on 
Pharaoh  ?  I  like  the  oratory  that  moves  men,  but  I  have  no  use  for 
the  elocution  where  a  man  is  showing  off." 

Q.  "What  would  you  do  if  you  were  a  pastor  in  a  town  where 
there  are  five  churches  and  only  room  for  one?  " 

A.  "  Get  out  mighty  quick.  No  power  on  earth  can  make  me  be- 
lieve it  is  God's  will  that  a  Methodist  and  a  Baptist  and  a  Congrega- 
tional and  a  Presbyterian  and  an  Episcopal  church  should  be  in  one 
town  where  there  is  not  room  for  more  than  one  or  two.  There  is 
scarcely  any  difference  in  their  creeds,  and  it  is  waste  of  time  to  be 
preaching  in  such  a  town.  I  believe  that  sort  of  thing  is  the  work 
of  the  devil." 

Q.  "What  would  you  do  in  a  neighborhood  of  about  one  hundred 
families  and  no  church,  where  there  are  no  Christians  except  one 
godly  family?  " 

A.  "  One  godly  family  can  evangelize  one  hundred  families  very 
easily.  Let  any  man  or  woman  who  can  read  well  get  a  good  ser- 
mon by  some  prominent  man,  and  let  it  be  announced  that  this  ser- 
mon is  to  be  read  on  Sunday  morning  or  evening.  Then  get  the 
people  together  and  read  that  sermon  and  pray  that  God  may  bless 
it.  It  may  be  just  as  effective  as  an  original  sermon.  That  has 
been  done  all  through  the  mining  districts.  It  is  a  sight  in  Colorado 
on  Sunday  to  see  the  miners  come  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  hills 
and  gather  in  the  schoolhouses  or  under  the  trees  while  some  old 
English  miner  stands  up  and  reads  one  of  Charles  Spurgeon's  ser- 
mons. They  have  conversions  right  along." 

Q.  "  How  can  we  get  hold  of  strangers  in  these  great  cities?  " 

A.  "  I  believe  that  if  you  would  have  in  the  pews  a  blank  card  with 
a  place  for  name  and  residence,  and  if  the  minister  would  say  when 
strangers  are  present  that  he  or  his  wife  would  be  glad  to  visit  them 
if  they  would  write  their  name  and  address  on  the  card,  and  leave  it 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  457 

in  the  pew — I  believe  that  if  a  minister  would  do  that  constantly,  he 
would  reach  a  great  many  people  and  bring  them  into  the  church. 
In  all  the  cities  a  great  many  people  are  lonesome  or  homesick,  and 
want  sympathy,  but  they  don't  know  how  to  get  it.  I  heard  of  a 
man  who  went  to  a  church  for  six  months  without  a  single  person 
speaking  to  him.  Of  course  he  was  as  much  to  blame  as  the  church, 
but  one  morning  the  minister  preached  on  recognizing  friends  in 
Heaven,  and  as  the  man  went  out  he  asked  the  sexton  to  ask  the 
minister  if  he  wouldn't  preach  on  recognizing  friends  on  eartk, 
for  he  had  been  attending  his  church  a  half  year  and  no  one  had 
spoken  to  him.  It  would  be  a  good  thing  to  have  a  committee 
at  the  door,  and  let  no  stranger  get  out  without  a  word  of  wel- 
come." 

Q.  "  If  you  are  advertised  to  preach,  and  there  is  a  small  audience 
on  account  of  the  bad  weather,  is  it  best  to  turn  it  into  a  prayer- 
meeting?  " 

A.  "  No,  sir,  I  don't  think  so  at  all.  If  I  expected  five  thousand 
people  there  and  found  only  five,  I  would  give  them  the  best  I  could. 
Another  thing — don't  abuse  the  people  who  come  for  those  that 
don't  come.  A  rainy,  stormy  night  is  the  time  I  expect  the  greatest 
blessing,  because  people  have  made  a  sacrifice  to  come.  I  was  ad- 
vertised to  speak  in  Boston,  and  three  thousand  tickets  had  been 
given  out.  There  came  up  the  biggest  blizzard  they  had  had  in 
Boston  for  eight  OT  nine  years.  I  had  hard  work  to  get  to  the  city, 
and  there  I  had  to  plough  my  way  through  deep  snow-drifts.  Less 
than  one  hundred  people  were  in  that  big  hall,  and  the  leaders  wanted 
to  know  if  it  would  not  be  best  to  close  the  meeting  and  wait  until 
the  storm  was  over.  '  No/  I  said,  '  not  by  a  good  deal.'  I  never 
preached  so  hard  in  my  life  as  I  did  to  that  one  hundred  people.  I 
put  half  a  dozen  sermons  together,  and  threw  them  right  at  them. 
If  a  man  ploughed  through  that  snow  to  hear  me  I  ought  to  do  my 
best  to  pay  him  for  coming.  What  we  want  is  to  turn  defeat  into 
victory.  If  a  man  can't  do  that  he  is  a  failure." 


45  8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Q.  "  Ought  a  man  to  be  admitted  into  the  church  if  he  has  not 
been  regenerated  ?  " 

A.  "No,  you  hurt  the  church  and  hurt  the  man.  A  great  many 
churches  think  that  by  admitting  a  man  you  bring  him  under  good 
influences  that  may  lead  to  his  conversion;  but  they  find  it  leads  to 
just  the  reverse.  He  gets  settled  in  his  self-righteousness,  and  it 
grows  harder  and  harder  to  reach  him.  The  moment  you  begin  to 
talk  to  him  he  runs  up  his  lightning  rod.  '  Oh,  I  am  saved !  I  am  a 
member  of  the  church ! '  There  he  sticks." 

Q.  "Is  it  right  for  any  man  or  woman  who  has  not  been  converted 
to  have  anything  to  do  in  an  evangelical  church?" 

A.  "  I  never  set  an  unconverted  man  or  woman  to  work,  but 
Christian  men  need  to  be  warmed  up  and  then  set  to  work  to  con- 
vert those  who  are  not  Christians." 

Q.  "  Would  you  tell  a  man  whose  speaking  injures  a  meeting  not 
to  take  part  in  a  prayer-meeting?" 

A.  "  Yes,  mighty  quick.  I  would  rather  hurt  the  man's  feelings 
than  hurt  the  whole  meeting.  Some  time  ago  I  said  to  a  man,  '  You 
ought  not  to  have  said  what  you  did  to-night,  and,  besides,  your 
record  is  all  bad,  and  you  ought  not  to  take  part  at  all.' 

"  '  Sir,'  he  said, '  you  hurt  my  feelings.' 

'  Well,'  I  said,  '  you  hurt  mine.     I  have  feelings  as  well  as  you, 
and  you  hurt  the  feelings  of  five  hundred  other  people  besides.'  " 

Q.  "  What  would  you  do  if  members  in  your  congregation  are  at 
swords'  points  with  others  and  won't  make  up  ?  " 

A.  "I  should  keep  at  them  until  they  did  make  up  or  left  the 
church.  No  blessing  can  be  expected  to  come  to  a  church  as  long  as 
the  members  go  to  the  Lord's  Supper  and  have  an  open  quarrel.  I 
believe  the  reason  that  there  are  so  few  conversions  in  many  churches 
is  because  of  these  church  feuds.  God  isn't  going  to  bless  a  church 
in  that  condition. " 

Q.  "  What  can  be  done  to  influence  young  men  in  the  church  and 
Sunday-school  who  are  not  Christians  ?  " 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  459 

A.  "  It  depends  altogether  on  what  class  of  young  men  they  are. 
It  may  be  wise  to  begin  by  gathering  them  together  for  a  social 
time.  Ask  them  to  your  house  to  tea,  and  get  acquainted  with  them. 
Find  out  something  that  they  can  do,  something  they  would  like  to 
do.  Another  good  way  is  to  visit  them  personally.  Men  like  to  be 
treated  as  men.  They  like  to  have  a  man  take  an  interest  in  them. 
If  a  minister  calls  on  men  in  their  office  or  store  or  on  the  farm, 
they  will  usually  manage  to  go  to  hear  him  preach." 

Q.  "  How  can  a  man  who  wants  to  preach  overcome  nervous- 
ness?" 

A.  "  That  is  a  practical  question,  my  friend.  Do  you  remember 
the  first  time  you  got  up  to  preach,  and  how  your  knees  went  thump, 
thump?  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do.  Get  so  full  of  your  subject  that 
you  forget  yourself.  Be  occupied  with  the  subject,  and  you  are  all 
right.  This  opens  the  question  of  preaching.  Let  me  say  right 
here  that  I  like  to  say  '  to  speak  '  better  than  '  to  preach,'  because  if  I 
can  only  get  people  to  think  I  am  talking  with  them,  and  not  preach- 
ing, it  is  so  much  easier  to  hold  their  attention.  The  other  night  I 
was  walking  home  in  the  dark,  and  two  people  right  behind  me  were 
talking  about  the  meeting.  One  of  them  said,  '  Did  Moody 
preach  to-night?  '  The  other  said,  '  No,  he  didn't  preach,  he  only 
talked.' 

"  '  Did  you  ever  hear  him  before?  ' 

"  '  Yes.' 

"  '  How  do  you  like  him  ?  ' 

"  '  Well,  we  don't  like  him.  He  never  has  the  church  service,  and 
he  doesn't  have  on  any  robes;  and  then  his  preaching — why,  he 
doesn't  preach  at  all,  he  just  talks.'  I  thought  that  was  quite  a  com- 
pliment. I  am  glad  if  I  can  make  people  think  I  am  talking  with 
them.  I  think  sometimes  we  almost  preach  the  people  to  death — it 
is  preach,  preach,  preach.  If  you  can  get  the  idea  out  of  their  minds 
that  you  are  going  to  preach,  and  just  let  them  think  that  you  are 
going  to  talk,  you  are  more  likely  to  reach  them. 


460  The  Life  of"  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Another  thing :  be  yourself.  I  detest  the  kind  of  people  that 
take  a  religious  tone  when  they  begin  to  talk  to  you  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  and  have  a  peculiar  whine  that  makes  you  think  of  cant. 
Be  natural.  Talk  on  this  subject  as  you  would  on  any  other." 
Q.  "How  can  a  young  man  hold  the  people's  attention?" 
A.  "  Get  hold  of  their  curiosity.  If  you  take  up  Dr.  Guthrie's  ser- 
mons, you  will  find  that  he  begins  a  thousand  miles  away  from  his 
text,  apparently,  and  you  wonder  how  he  is  ever  going  to  get  back 
to  his  theme.  When  he  has  the  curiosity  of  the  congregation  ex- 
cited, he  comes  back  to  his  text.  You  will  find  he  almost  invariably 
begins  in  that  way.  Another  point :  If  you  have  got  a  good  thing 
to  say,  say  it  in  the  beginning.  Don't  get  into  ruts;  strike  out  a 
path  of  your  own.  Don't  say,  '  Firstly,'  and  '  Secondly/  and 
'  Thirdly,'  and  then  '  Finally,'  '  In  conclusion,'  and  '  Lastly,'  and  all 
that.  Take  the  whole  truth  or  the  whole  text  and  throw  it  right  at 
them;  then  try  to  drive  it  home. 

"  It  is  said  of  Cicero,  the  great  Roman  orator,  that  when  he  had 
spoken  every  one  would  go  out  of  the  building  saying,  '  What  a  mag- 
nificent address !  What  an  orator ! '  But  when  Demosthenes,  the 
Greek  orator,  had  finished,  the  people  would  say,  '  Let  us  go  and 
fight  Philip! '  He  had  fired  them  up  with  the  cause;  and  what  we 
want  is  to  get  the  attention  of  the  people  away  from  ourselves  and  on 
to  the  subject." 

O.  "Suppose  you  see  a  man  asleep  in  the  audience?" 
A.  "  It  is  a  good  thing  to  stop  and  say,  '  Won't  you  open  the  win- 
dow and  let  in  a  little  air?  Here  is  a  gentleman  who  has  gone  to  sleep.' 
That'll  wake  up  every  one  of  them.  You  can't  reach  a  man  when 
he  is  asleep.  Men  may  talk  in  their  sleep,  but  you  can't  talk  to  a 
man  when  he  is  asleep.  An  interruption  like  that  won't  do  any 
harm,  especially  if  it  makes  the  people  think  it  wasn't  your  preach- 
ing, but  the  bad  air,  that  put  the  man  to  sleep.  Very  often  you  will 
wake  a  man  up  by  pointing  right  down  to  him.  Sometimes  I  have 
seen  a  man  just  going  to  sleep,  and  I  would  stamp  my  foot.  One 


.  AND  MRS.  D.  L.  MOODY  WITH  GRANDCHILDREN. 


Asking  and  Answering  Questions  463 

man  asleep  will  publish  to  the  whole  audience  that  you  are  a  dry 
preacher." 

Q.  "  How  long  should  a  sermon  be?  " 

A.  "  It  is  very  much  better  to  get  a  reputation  for  being  brief  than 
to  have  people  say  that  you  preach  long  sermons.  Say  what  you 
have  got  to  say  in  just  as  few  words  as  you  can.  Then  stop  when  you 
get  through.  Some  men  go  on  and  feel  around  for  a  good  stopping 
place.  I'd  rather  stop  abruptly  than  do  that.  Don't  waste  any  time. 
Remember,  we  are  living  in  an  intense  age.  Men  think  quicker  than 
they  used  to.  The  time  was  when  if  a  man  wanted  to  do  a  little 
business  in  Boston,  he  would  write  half  a  dozen  sheets  of  foolscap  and 
send  them  by  mail.  Now  he  puts  it  all  in  a  telegram  of  ten  words. 
What  we  want  in  our  preaching  is  to  condense.  Get  a  reputation  for 
being  short,  and  people  will  want  to  hear  you." 

Q.  "  What  would  you  do  if  the  choir  disturbed  you?  " 

A.  "  I  remember  preaching  once  at  Limerick  when  our  hymn- 
books  were  ne\v.  A  young  man  came  in  and  joined  the  choir.  There 
were  three  or  four  hundred  people  on  the  stage,  and  he  took  a  front 
seat.  He  took  up  a  hymn-book  just  as  I  began  to  preach,  and  turned 
over  the  leaves.  Beginning  with  the  first  hymn,  he  went  on  as  if  he 
were  going  to  examine  every  page  in  the  book.  I  thought  to  my- 
self, '  Have  I  got  to  preach  until  he  gets  all  through  that  book  be- 
fore I  can  get  the  attention  of  the  people  ? '  What  to  do  I  didn't 
know.  Finally  I  used  him  as  an  illustration.  Speaking  of  a  young 
man  in  America,  I  said,  '  He  was  about  the  age  of  this  young  man 
reading  a  hymn-book.'  The  result  was  that  when  I  asked  all  those 
in  the  house  who  wanted  us  to  pray  for  them  to  rise,  he  rose.  That 
young  man  was  the  first  soul  God  gave  me  in  Limerick.  If  he  had 
gone  on  reading  the  hymn-book,  it  would  have  been  almost  impossi- 
ble for  me  to  get  hold  of  him  or  the  people.  Get  the  attention  of 
your  audience  somehow.  If  you  are  going  to  be  a  public  speaker, 
train  yourself  for  that." 

Q.  "  What  should  be  done  after  the  attention  is  gained?  " 


464  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

A.  "  Aim  at  the  heart.  Just  keep  thundering  away  at  the  man's 
heart  and  you  will  get  it,  and  if  you  get  his  heart,  you  will  get  his 
head  and  his  feet  and  everything — you  get  the  whole  man.  The 
story  of  the  Prodigal  Son  will  melt  any  man's  heart.  So  will  the 
story  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  Or  take  any  of  the  miracles  of  heal- 
ing— how  Christ  saw  a  man  blind  or  paralyzed  and  came  to  him  and 
had  compassion  on  him.  Just  open  the  heart  of  Christ  to  the  people 
and  draw  the  multitude  around  Him.  If  you  want  to  get  hold  of  an 
audience,  aim  at  the  heart;  and  there  is  nothing  that  will  warm  up 
the  heart  like  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ." 


CHAPTER    XL 

LATER  EXPERIENCES  WITH  THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN 
ASSOCIATIONS 

REFERENCES  have  frequently  been  made  to  Mr.  Moody's 
early  work  in  behalf  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation. His  loyalty  to  that  organization  was  never  lessened 
in  later  years,  notwithstanding  the  growth  of  the  institutions  di- 
rectly dependent  upon  him  for  support.  It  is  true  he  emphasized 
the  directly  religious  features  of  the  work  above  every  other  branch 
of  effort,  recognizing  in  the  Christian  life  of  the  organization  the 
vital  force  which  could  make  it  most  useful  in  the  truest  sense. 
Educational  privileges  and  opportunities  for  athletic  prowess  he 
recognized  as  secondary  to  the  original  plan  and  purpose.  The  As- 
sociation, to  his  mind,  was  a  means  to  an  end,  and  he  had  little  sym- 
pathy with  the  spirit  that  willingly  sacrificed  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  to  what  are  called  "  Association  methods."  He  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  exclusion  of  women  from  the  Sunday  gospel  meetings 
of  the  Association,  believing  that  in  many  instances  mothers,  sisters, 
or  friends  might  be  counted  on  as  efficient  helpers  in  bringing  to  the 
meetings  the  very  men  whom  the  Association  should  reach.  Instead 
of  poorly  attended  gospel  meetings  supported  by  a  few  elderly  Chris- 
tian men,  he  believed  the  Association  meetings  would  be  well  at- 
tended by  the  very  class  they  should  reach  if  they  were  but  thrown 
open  to  mixed  audiences. 

These  views  he  often  expressed,  and  in  consequence  it  was  felt  by 
some  that  Mr.  Moody  was  disloyal  to  the  organization.     But  if  he 


466  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

was  able  to  serve  the  Associations  in  earlier  years,  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  of  his  ministry  showed  still  greater  results  of  his  service  in 
their  behalf. 

Early  in  his  evangelistic  work  in  America  Mr.  Moody  seized  every 
opportunity  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  local  Associations,  and  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  work  for  their  interests. 

In  financial  help  to  various  building  enterprises  it  may  be  fairly 
said  that  Mr.  Moody's  cooperation  added  above  $1,000,000  to  the 
permanent  property  fund  of  the  Associations.  For  some  years  after 
his  return  from  Great  Britain  in  1875,  out  of  the  fund  for  Christian 
work  under  his  control  he  appropriated  to  the  International  Com- 
mittee's treasury  an  annual  contribution  several  times  greater  than 
the  largest  gift  from  any  other  donor.  Later,  in  order  to  help  the 
student  department  of  the  international  work,  he  solicited  for  a  term 
of  years  several  thousand  dollars  annually. 

Mr.  Moody  was  especially  desirous  that  the  spiritual  activities  of 
the  Association  should  be  warm  and  evangelistic.  He  was  at  times 
their  critic,  as  he  was  a  critic  of  the  churches;  but  as  he  loved 
dearly  all  branches  of  the  Christian  church  and  worked  for  their  ad- 
vancement, so  he  worked  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Association.  His 
Student  Conferences,  beginning  in  1886,  were  one  of  the  several  evi- 
dences of  such  cooperation,  and  the  programme  and  arrangements 
for  these  conferences  were  largely  left  to  Association  men. 

"  In  1875,  at  the  close  of  the  evangelistic  campaign  in  Brooklyn, 
he  turned  to  the  Association  as  a  valuable  helper  of  the  churches  in 
caring  for  the  converts,"  writes  Thornton  B.  Penfield,  secretary  of  the 
Brooklyn  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  "  The  Associa- 
tion was  crippled  for  want  of  means,  and  its  discontinuance  was 
threatened.  Although  Mr.  Moody  was  much  wearied  by  his  exten- 
sive labors,  he  did  not  leave  Brooklyn  until  he  had  secured  subscrip- 
tions of  about  $8,000  to  relieve  it  of  its  indebtedness  and  to  enlarge 
its  activities  and  usefulness.  From  that  day  the  Association  has 
never  taken  a  backward  step.  In  1884  he  became  interested  in  rais- 


MR.  MOODY  WATCHING  A  GAME  OF  DUCK-ON-THE-ROCK  BY  MOUNT 
HERMON  STUDENTS. 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  469 

ing  the  endowment  fund  of  $150,000,  coming  to  Brooklyn  more  than 
once  to  aid  in  that  effort.  The  largest  church  collection  ever  taken 
in  our  city  for  the  Association  was  at  the  close  of  a  statement  made  by 
Mr.  Moody,  which  occupied  about  ten  minutes,  concerning  the  value 
and  the  necessity  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  work,  and 
expressing  his  great  indebtedness  to  the  Association  for  wkat  it  had 
done  for  him.  In  1885  Mr.  Moody  laid  the  cornerstone  of  the  Central 
Building  at  502  Fulton  Street,  and  even  on  that  occasion  made  so 
pointed  an  appeal  that  some  of  the  workmen  employed  on  the  build- 
ing were  led  to  Christ." 

When  the  great  Hippodrome  meetings  were  held  in  New  York, 
William  E.  Dodge,  the  president  of  the  Association,  was  in  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  campaign,  and  Robert  R.  McBurney  and  Richard 
C.  Morse  were  among  the  leaders  in  connection  with  the  inquiry 
meetings.  A  great  deal  of  the  work  centred  in  and  about  the  Asso- 
ciation building  on  Twenty-third  Street.  At  the  close  of  the  cam- 
paign a  service  was  held  in  the  interest  of  the  Association.  Two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  was  secured,  $150,000  of  which  was  used  in 
paying  off  the  debt  of  the  Twenty-third  Street  building,  and  $50,000 
appropriated  to  found  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Insti- 
tute in  the  Bowery. 

Twice  Mr.  Moody  raised  funds  to  erect  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  building  in  Chicago,  which  to-day  has  property 
worth  over  $1,000,000.  Through  his  exertions  many  of  the  leading 
organizations  were  greatly  aided  in  times  of  special  financial  straits. 
Two  instances  of  special  interest  are  recorded  by  Mr.  Walter  C. 
Douglas,  general  secretary  of  the  Philadelphia  Association,  in  the 
following  letter : 

"  In  the  winter  of  1879-80,  when  I  was  general  secretary  in  St. 
Louis,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  that  city  was  a 
young  and  comparatively  weak  organization,  occupying  rented 
rooms.  The  Association  was  instrumental  in  getting  Mr.  Moody  to 
come  to  St.  Louis  and  spenct  the  winter  in  a  great  evangelistic  can- 
26 


470  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

vass.  The  organization  was  very  active  in  the  work,  and  it  was  my 
happiness  to  be  closely  associated  with  him  for  the  whole  of  that 
winter.  At  the  close  of  the  campaign  he  voluntarily  undertook  to 
raise  $37,500  in  order  to  purchase,  for  cash,  the  property  of  the  Union 
Methodist  Church,  at  Eleventh  and  Locust  streets,  and  present  it  to 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Although  a  conservative 
community  and  up  to  that  time  but  little  interested  in  Association 
work,  Mr.  Moody's  great  ability  and  influence  carried  the  plan  to 
success.  The  amount  was  raised,  and  the  property  was  bought  and 
deeded  to  the  trustees,  free  of  debt.  Some  years  later  this  piece  of 
property  was  sold  by  the  Association  for  $128,000,  which  sum  was  the 
foundation  of  its  present  splendid  building  and  widely  extended  work. 
"  In  Philadelphia  the  central  building  of  the  Association  was 
begun  and  finished  during  the  financial  panic  of  1873  and  the  hard 
times  that  followed.  As  a  result  the  building,  when  completed,  had  a 
debt  upon  it  of  $200,000.  In  1882  this  debt  had  increased  to  $400,- 
ooo,  of  which  sum  $200,000  was  in  notes.  The  Association  was  in  a 
critical  condition  and  seemed  to  be  about  to  lose  its  property.  This 
would  have  been  disastrous  to  the  work  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 
moral  effect  would  have  been  felt  throughout  the  entire  country. 
The  case  being  presented  to  Mr.  Moody,  he  at  once  came  to  the  res- 
cue with  all  his  unselfishness  and  great  executive  ability.  He  had  a 
large  appropriation  made  from  the  hymn-book  fund,  in  addition  to 
which  he  secured  contributions  from  prominent  citizens  of  New  York 
City.  He  came  to  Philadelphia  with  $60,000,  obtained  outside  of  the 
city,  and  then,  by  his  own  exertions,  secured  $140,000  in  Philadelphia, 
making  up  the  sum  of  $200,000,  with  which  the  floating  debt  of  that 
amount  was  entirely  paid,  leaving  only  the  mortgage  debt  of  $200,- 
©oo.  Thus  by  his  personal  interest  and  individual  effort  this  valuable 
property  was  saved,  and  a  great  shock  to  the  credit  of  the  Young 
Men's  Chri-stian  Association  in  the  United  States  was  averted.  The 
trustees  recently  refused  an  offer  of  $750,000  for  this  piece  of  prop- 
erty thus  preserved  by  Mr.  Moody's  efforts. 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  471 

"  He  came  to  Philadelphia  again  several  years  afterwards,  and 
started  a  canvass  for  $200,000  with  which  to  pay  off  the  mortgage 
remaining  upon  this  property.  This  last  effort  was  seconded  by  the 
Hon.  John  Wanamaker  and  others,  and  $150,000  was  collected  and 
paid  upon  the  mortgage  in  this  second  canvass.  In  the  first  canvass 
Mr.  Wanamaker  was  associated  with  Mr.  Moody  and  contributed 
$50,000  himself.  In  the  second  canvass  also  Mr.  Wanamaker  con- 
tributed largely  both  in  time  and  money. 

"  In  briefly  stating  these  two  cases  that  come  within  my  own 
knowledge,  I  may  add  that  Mr.  Moody  carried  on  this  work  of 
money-raising  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  service  in  such  a  way  that  it 
proved  a  great  blessing  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact." 

During  a  mission  in  Richmond,  Va.,  Mr.  Moody  undertook  to 
raise  sufficient  funds  to  erect  a  building  in  that  city.  About  $35,000 
was  pledged,  and  the  building  begun.  Before  completion  it  was 
found  that  $15,000  more  would  be  required  to  free  it  from  debt,  and 
this  sum  increased  to  $20,000  in  the  course  of  a  few  years.  In  1894 
Mr.  Moody  returned  to  Richmond  for  a  second  mission,  and  during 
this  visit  was  successful  in  raising  the  deficit.  Mr.  S.  W.  Travers 
writes  as  follows  of  this  occasion : 

"  I  was  then  president  of  the  Association,  and  it  was  at  the  request 
of  the  Association,  indorsed  by  the  Christian  Ministerial  Unions  of 
various  denominations,  that  Mr.  Moody  consented  to  revisit  Rich- 
mond. Mr.  George  F.  Tibbitts  was  then  secretary.  There  was 
erected  an  immense  building,  seating  over  five  thousand  people,  where 
a  successful  series  of  meetings  was  held.  At  one  of  these  meetings 
Mr.  Moody  presented  the  claims  that  the  Christian  Association  of 
Richmond  had  upon  her  citizens  and  Christian  people.  He  did 
nothing  more  than  this  in  1894;  but  this  was  enough,  and  shortly 
after  the  meeting  closed,  and  he  had  left  us,  an  appeal  was  made  by 
the  board  of  directors,  supported  by  the  local  press,  which  resulted 
in  securing  pledges  aggregating,  as  well  as  I  remember,  $21,000  or 
$22,000. 


^2  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  we  owe  our  Association  in  Richmond  largely  to 
Mr.  Moody,  for  which  the  city  owes  him  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude, 
and  I  am  positive  that  his  memory  is  warmly  cherished  by  all  our 
people." 

It  could  almost  be  said  that  Mr.  Moody's  evangelistic  tours  could 
be  traced  by  his  influence  upon  these  organizations.  Mr.  H.  J.  Mc- 
Coy, of  San  Francisco,  writes  of  his  efforts  in  that  city : 

"  The  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  for  the 
moral  and  spiritual  protection  of  young  men  owes  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  Mr.  Moody;  for  its  growth  and  development  throughout 
California,  and  particularly  in  this  city,  are  largely  the  result  of  his 
effort  and  timely  help  in  1881,  when  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  and, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  rescued  the  Association  and  raised  the  debt 
of  $84,000  on  the  Sutter  Street  property.  Through  his  wisdom  and 
forethought  the  work  was  reorganized,  placed  on  a  firm  basis,  and 
started  on  legitimate  lines  of  effort  for  young  men,  Mr.  Moody  con- 
tributing liberally  of  his  own  private  funds  toward  the  indebtedness. 
Mr.  Moody  came  to  this  coast  at  the  request  of  the  International 
Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which  com- 
mittee heartily  cooperated  and  ably  assisted  him  in  the  work  at  that 
time,  a  work  that  meant  so  much  to  the  young  men  of  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

"  Through  his  efforts  I  came  to  the  secretaryship  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Association  in  August,  1881.  For  more  than  twenty-five  years 
he  was  a  close  personal  friend,  and  to  him,  more  than  to  any  other 
man,  living  or  dead,  I  owe  the  fact  of  my  being  in  Christian  work." 

From  Mr.  W.  M.  Banner,  secretary  of  the  Denver  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  comes  a  similar  testimony  as  to  interest  taken 
in  Association  work  during  Mr.  Moody's  last  year  of  evangelistic 
effort : 

"  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody's  work  in  Denver  in  1899  resulted  in  the  rais- 
ing of  $3,600  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  Association.  This  was 
only  incidental  to  the  great  meetings  held,  but  was  sufficient  to  save 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  473 

the  Association  from  the  miserable  deficit  that  had  been  embarrassing 
the  organization  for  years." 

Frequently  Mr.  Moody's  indirect  influence  in  behalf  of  the  Asso- 
ciations was  no  less  strikingly  helpful  in  a  material  way.  A  former 
secretary  of  the  Albany  Association  writes : 

"In  1886  Mr.  Moody  held  a  service  or  services  in  Albany,  N.  Y., 
in  the  management  of  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
took  a  prominent  part.  Mr.  Moody,  as  was  his  custom,  at  the  clos- 
ing service  of  the  convention  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  the 
people  of  Albany  to  provide  better  facilities  for  the  work  among 
young  men,  and  earnestly  advocated  the  need  of  a  building  for  the 
Association,  stating  at  this  service  that  the  organization  had,  under 
God,  done  more  in  developing  him  for  service  than  any  other 
agency.  The  suggestion  bore  fruit.  Mr.  Charles  F.  Waterman  was 
led  to  make  a  generous  subscription  and  to  advocate  earnestly  the 
need  of  such  a  building.  Through  Mr.  Waterman  and  the  earnest 
advocacy  of  the  movement  by  Mr.  Moody,  Mr.  James  B.  Jermain 
became  interested  and  made  the  Association  a  gift  of  its  present  build- 
ing, and  later  largely  increased  this  gift,  so  that  his  entire  bene- 
factions to  the  Association  exceeded  $100,000.  I  fully  believe  that 
credit  for  the  suggestion  of  the  erection  of  this  building  belongs  to 
Mr.  Moody." 

The  Rev.  S.  A.  Taggart,  of  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  for  many  years  State 
secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  writes  at  length 
regarding  Mr.  Moody's  efforts  in  behalf  of  young  men  in  Pennsyl- 
vania : 

"  Mr.  Moody  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  on  the  continent  of  America.  Previous  to  the 
Civil  War  (1861-65)  the  Associations  in  this  country  were  few  in 
number  and  had  gained  little  more  than  a  foothold.  The  oldest  of 
them  had  been  formed  scarcely  ten  years.  Many  were  disbanded 
during  the  years  of  strife,  and  the  existence  of  those  that  were  left 
was  for  the  most  part  little  more  than  nominal.  It  was  only  after 


474  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

peace  had  been  declared  that  they  began  to  take  on  an  aggressive 
spiritual  life.  In  these  initiatory  aggressive  movements  Mr.  Moody 
very  early  appeared  upon  the  scene.  The  Christian  soldiers,  on 
their  return  home,  called  to  mind  the  impressive  meetings  of  the 
Christian  Commission  in  the  various  camps,  and  the  next  question 
was,  Why  not  have  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  our  town 
or  city?  Soon  Mr.  Moody  was  in  demand  for  the  promotion  of  As- 
sociations in  all  sections  of  the  Northwest.  It  was  about  this  time, 
too,  that  he  was  chosen  the  executive  officer  of  the  Chicago  Asso- 
ciation. 

"  He  told  me  of  his  first  visit  to  Pittsburg  in  the  interest  of  the  As- 
sociation. He  had  been  to  Philadelphia  in  1866,  and  on  his  way 
stopped,  between  trains,  in  Pittsburg.  He  said, '  My  time  was  limited. 
I  rushed  down  the  street  and  stopped  at  a  store,  and  said  to  the  first 
man  I  saw,  "Give  me  the  names  of  some  of  your  most  earnest  minis- 
ters." He  said,  "  My  pastor  is  one."  "  Who  is  he?  "  "  Herrick 
Johnson,"  he  replied.  "  Where  does  he  live?  "  He  pointed  me  to 
his  house.  I  rang  the  door-bell,  and  was  shown  into  the  house,  and 
found  myself  in  the  midst  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  dinner  party.  I 
saw  that  they  were  astonished  at  my  abrupt  entrance.  I  was  over- 
flowing with  zeal.  I  told  Dr.  Johnson  that  Pittsburg  ought  to  have 
a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  urged  it  upon  him  at 
length.  He  agreed  with  me  at  once,  and  said  that  a  movement  was 
then  on  foot  in  the  interest  of  such  an  organization.' 

"  In  less  than  two  months  Mr.  Moody  was  back  (January,  1867) 
in  Pittsburg,  attending  a  Christian  convention.  His  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  young  organization  at  that  time  were  exceedingly  useful  and 
greatly  appreciated.  Before  the  winter  was  over  a  deep  religious 
interest  prevailed  throughout  the  city,  and  a  large  number  of  young 
men  were  led  to  enter  upon  a  Christian  life.  Soon  his  services  were 
in  great  demand  among  Associations,  not  simply  in  the  region  of 
Chicago,  but  as  far  east  as  Boston  and  Philadelphia. 

"  He  attended  the  Indianapolis  convention  in  1870.     It  was  at  this 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  475 

convention  that  he  uttered  those  pithy  sayings :  '  The  law  says  do, 
grace  says  done;  the  law  says  do  and  live,  grace  says  live  and  do;  the 
Gospel  says  to  the  sinner,  "  Come,"  it  says  to  the  Christian,  "  Go."  ' 
These  sayings  soon  found  an  echo  in  every  Association  hall  in  the 
land.  They  could  readily  be  expanded  into  volumes,  and  they  formed 
a  large  part  of  the  basis  of  what  in  after  years  was  Mr.  Moody's 
working  theology. 

"  Over  thirty  years  ago,  while  I  was  stopping  in  Chicago  for  a  day 
or  two,  I  got  my  first  impression  of  Mr.  Moody  by  personal  observa- 
tion. Passing  along  Madison  Street,  my  attention  was  called  to  a 
bulletin  board  at  the  Association  building,  on  which  was  the  an- 
nouncement: 'Meeting  to-morrow  night  in  Farwell  Hall  at  7.30. 
D.  L.  Moody,  speaker.  Subject,  Jesus.'  A  few  minutes  later  I  at- 
tended the  noon-day  meeting  at  which  Mr.  Moody  spoke.  He  did 
not  seem  to  be  afraid  that  he  would  exhaust  his  subject  of  the  next 
evening,  although  his  theme  was  '  Jesus.'  There  was  an  urgency 
about  him  far  beyond  the  ordinary.  He  had  seemingly  such  a  vivid 
and  large  conception  of  Christ  that  he  was  bound  to  tell  it  out.  If  I 
could  make  a  composite  of  all  that  he  has  ever  preached  or  said  in 
religious  meetings  since  that  time  and  blend  it  into  one  word,  it 
would  be 'Jesus.' 

"  In  less  than  two  years  from  that  time  I  was  elected  State  secre- 
tary of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  Pennsylvania,  a 
position  entirely  new  and  without  precedent  in  any  State  in  the 
Union.  However  attractive  it  seemed,  I  soon  found  that  it  involved 
peculiar  problems  and  difficulties.  I  turned  for  counsel  and  help  to 
those  who  were  older  and  had  larger  experience.  I  thought  of  Mr. 
Moody  among  others,  and  in  the  fall  of  1871  visited  him  in  Chicago. 
I  found  him  in  the  office  of  the  employment  department  of  the 
Chicago  Association,  dealing  with  young  men  who  were  out  of  work. 
I  told  him  I  had  come  for  his  help.  He  said, '  I  can't  promise  to  help 
any  one;  I  am  too  busy.  If  I  were  able  to  divide  myself  into  two  or 
three  men  I  would  have  no  spare  time.'  The  outcome  of  our  con- 


476  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

ference  was  that  he  agreed  to  come  the  following  winter  to  help 
in  conventions  in  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Scranton,  Harrisburg, 
Erie,  and  other  places,  if  he  could  find  the  time.  It  was  scarcely  a 
week  after  this  that  tidings  came  of  the  Chicago  fire.  Mr.  Moody's 
mission  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  buildings,  as  well 
as  his  home,  were  in  ashes.  Thousands  of  people  were  homeless  and 
destitute,  and  a  multitude  of  new  cares  were  thrust  upon  him.  I  felt 
that  his  agreement  to  come  to  Pennsylvania  must  be  postponed  in- 
definitely. Early  in  1873  I  was  in  Philadelphia  and  had  occasion  to 
visit  Mr.  John  Wanamaker,  of  our  State  committee.  Mrs.  Wana- 
maker,  being  present,  said, '  Get  Mr.  Moody  to  come  to  Pennsylvania 
by  all  means ;  he  has  been  in  our  church,  and  in  Dr.  Cuyler's  in  Brook- 
lyn, holding  meetings.  He  is  the  greatest  man  in  America  to  get 
men  to  think  of  their  sins  and  of  another  world.  Dr.  Cuyler  agrees 
with  me.' 

"  The  Association  at  Pittsburg  had  been  conducting  special  meet- 
ings during  the  last  week  of  May,  1873,  and  Mr.  Moody  gave  a 
single  Bible  address  May  27th,  the  last  service  he  held  in  this  coun- 
try before  his  departure  on  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  won- 
derful mission.  I  have  never  forgotten  that  address.  I  took  no 
notes  of  it,  and  yet  for  nearly  twenty-seven  years  I  have  carried  the 
theme  and  its  four  divisions  in  my  memory.  His  subject  was  the 
love  of  God.  The  four  points  were,  first,  the  love  of  God  in  the  gift 
of  His  Son ;  second,  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  as  a 
preparation  for  His  service;  third,  the  love  of  God  in  the  afflictions 
that  come  to  His  people ;  fourth,  the  love  of  God  in  death. 

"Upon  the  last  point  his  words  seemed  almost  prophetic  of  his 
dying  moments.  '  People  say  to  me,  have  you  grace  to  die  ?  I  say 
no;  I  have  only  grace  now  to  hold  this  meeting.  The  Lord  promises 
to  give  grace  when  we  need  it  and  not  before,  and  when  death  comes, 
and  not  before,  will  He  give  us  dying  grace.  They  say  to  me,  "  How 
do  you  know  He  will  be  with  us  in  death?"  I  say  because  He  tells 
us  in  His  own  Word,  "  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death 


Later -Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  477 

of  His  saints."  His  Spirit  inspired  one  of  His  servants  to  write  for 
our  comfort,  "  For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord. "  As  if  some  one  might  be  doubting  it,  the  first  thing  he  says 
is,  "  For  I  am  persuaded  that  death  cannot  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God."  My  friends,  when  we  are  called  upon  to  die,  if  we  love  God 
we  will  know  in  a  moment  that  God  will  take  care  of  our  loved  ones.' 
may  be  sorry  to  part  from  our  loved  ones,  but  He  will  give  us  light. 
It  might  please  Him,  in  the  hour  of  death,  to  give  us  a  little  sight  of 
the  glory  of  the  future  before  we  pass  out  of  the  body.  If  so,  this 
world  will  be  spoiled  forever;  we  will  not  even  want  to  look  back; 
we  will  know  in  a  moment  that  God  will  take  care  of  our  loved  ones.' 

"  I  cannot  help  comparing  these  words  with  the  utterances  of  Mr. 
Moody  more  than  twenty-six  years  afterwards,  when  he  came  to  the 
close  of  life: 

"  '  Earth  recedes;  Heaven  opens  before  me.  I  have  been  beyond 
the  gates.  God  is  calling.  Don't  call  me  back.'  I  cannot  but  think 
he  must  have  caught  a  sight  of  the  future  glory. 

"  In  closing  the  meeting  he  said : '  I  am  going  over  to  the  manufac- 
turing towns  in  England  for  three  months  to  preach  the  Gospel  while 
our  church  in  Chicago  is  being  completed.  I  want  you  to  pray  that 
I  may  be  so  full  ©f  the  love  of  God  that  I  can  speak  of  nothing  but 
Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified.'  We  who  heard  him  little  imagined 
that  in  less  than  six  months  audiences  of  from  five  to  ten  thousand 
people  would  be  listening  to  the  story  of  the  cross  from  his  lips  in  the 
city  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  or  that  such  a  widespread  awakening 
would  follow  his  labors  that  he  would  spend  twenty-six  months,  in- 
stead of  three,  in  his  mission  abroad. 

"The  great  spiritual  awakening  attending  Mr.  Moody's  labors 
abroad  was  felt  by  the  Associations  in  this  country  long  before  his 
return.  This  was  evident  in  the  State  and  international  conventions 


478  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  by  the  increased  evangelistic  spirit  shown  among  many  of  the 
organizations.  This  spirit  grew  in  intensity  upon  his  return. 

"For  over  twenty-five  years  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr. 
Moody  had  no  official  relation  with  any  local  Association,  and  yet 
during  all  that  time  his  spiritual  power,  attested  in  his  multiplied 
labors,  served  as  a  kind  of  dynamic  force,  communicating  itself 
through  the  network  of  conventions  to  the  greater  number  of  Asso- 
ciations all  over  the  continent.  So  all-pervading  was  his  influence 
in  the  life  of  the  Associations  in  this  country  that  it  would  be  hard 
to  tell  what  might  have  been  their  course  had  no  such  relation  ever 
existed.  This  is  true  not  alone  in  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Associa- 
tions, but  to  a  great  extent  also  in  their  temporal  equipment.  Many 
Association  buildings  owe  their  origin,  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  the 
unselfish  efforts  of  Mr.  Moody.  Notably  is  this  the  case  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, at  Philadelphia,  Scranton,  Reading,  and  Williamsport. 

"  It  was  during  the  year  1885,  through  the  joint  invitation  and  co- 
operation of  pastors  and  Associations,  that  he  held  several  days'  ser- 
vices in  each  of  the  following  places  and  in  the  order  named : 

"  Harrisburg,  Scranton,  Germantown  (Philadelphia),  New  Castle, 
Pittsburg,  Reading,  Williamsport,  Bellefonte,  Altoona,  York,  and 
Chester. 

"  These  gatherings  partook  of  the  character  of  conventions,  three 
sessions  a  day  being  held.  The  evening  services  were  evangelistic. 
The  various  cities  were  not  visited  consecutively,  but  at  such  periods 
as  he  could  best  give  the  time.  The  first  was  visited  as  early  as  Janu- 
ary, and  the  last  as  late  as  December  of  that  year. 

"  At  most  of  these  places  the  local  committees  of  arrangements 
had  the  advantage  of  using  the  large  skating-rinks  that  had  been 
erected  a  little  while  before.  They  had  been  seated  and  comfortably 
heated,  and  accommodated  very  large  numbers  of  people.  I  think  I 
make  a  conservative  estimate  when  I  say  that  in  the  aggregate  at 
least  five  hundred  thousand  people  heard  him,  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  different  persons  were  in  attendance  during  these 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  479 

gatherings.  They  were  attended  by  a  wonderful  interest.  At  one 
place  I  was  told  that  nearly  two  hundred  ministers  outside  of  the 
city  were  present.  The  same  was  true,  to  a  great  extent,  elsewhere. 
The  after-meetings  were  attended  by  many  inquirers,  and  the  reports 
of  pastors  bore  witness  of  much  substantial  fruit. 

"At  a  convention  in  Scranton  Mr.  Moody  called  upon  me  to  speak 
upon  the  subject,  '  What  more  can  be  done  for  the  young  men  of 
this  city  ? '  He  followed  this  by  announcing  that  a  collection 
would  be  taken  that  night  for  a  building  for  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Scranton,  and  that  he  would  like  to  raise 
$75,000.  This  practical  part  of  the  subject  was  new  to  the  people. 
I  could  see  many  of  them  shaking  their  heads  in  doubt.  In  the  mean- 
time the  alert  board  of  managers  of  the  Association  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  occasion  to  invite  a  special  company  to  dine  with  Mr. 
Moody  at  the  hotel  that  evening.  Around  the  table  $25,000  was 
subscribed  for  the  new  building.  One  who  had  been  specially  in- 
vited to  be  present,  and  from  whom,  by  reason  of  his  wealth,  they  had 
hoped  for  help,  was  not  there.  Mr.  Moody  proposed  to  go  and  see 
him  at  once  before  the  meeting  of  the  evening.  Some  shook  their 
heads  and  said  they  feared  it  would  be  of  no  use.  Mr.  Moody  said  to 
Colonel  Boies, '  Get  your  sleigh  and  drive  around  with  me  to  see  this 
man  before  the  meeting;  I  like  to  talk  to  rich  men,  particularly  if 
they  don't  want  to  give.  They  are  a  neglected  class  and  need  a  mis- 
sionary. No  one  ever  thinks  of  speaking  to  them  about  their  souls 
or  their  stewardship.'  He  called  to  see  this  man  and  said  to  him, 
'We  need  a  Moses  to  lead  the  way  for  the  young  men  of  Scranton. 
The  Association  is  out  on  the  street  nearly  all  the  time  begging  for 
its  living,  when  it  ought  to  be  trying  to  save  the  ten  thousand  young 
men  of  the  city.  We  want  you  to  give  $20,000  to  lead  the  way  for  a 
building.'  This  request  staggered  the  old  gentleman  for  a  time,  and 
he  could  make  no  reply,  but  finally  said  that  he  could  not  give. 
Mr.  Moody  then  talked  to  him  about  $10,000,  but  with  no  satisfac- 
tory understanding.  He  said  to  him,  '  You  will  be  at  the  meeting 


480  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

to-night  ?  '  '  Yes,'  was  the  reply.  '  Well,  I  want  you  to  take  a  seat 
on  the  platform.'  When  the  time  for  the  meeting  came  we  had 
worked  our  way  with  difficulty  to  the  platform.  Mr.  Moody  said  to 

me,  '  Do  you  see  Mr.  X anywhere?  '     Before  I  could  reply  he 

caught  sight  of  him  on  the  edge  of  the  platform  and  worked  over  as 
near  as  he  could  get,  and  in  a  shouting  whisper  said,  '  How  much 
is  it — ten,  ten?'  'Oh,  no,'  was  the  reply,  'just  the  half,  just  the 
half.'  When  the  name  of  this  man,  among  others,  was  announced 
that  night  as  giving  $5,000,  it  produced  a  deep  impression.  He  was 
known  as  slow  in  giving,  and  yet  for  that  very  reason  it  seemed  to 
inspire  the  whole  city  with  confidence  that  the  project  must  go 
through  to  success.  From  that  hour  this  man  took  the  deepest  in- 
terest in  the  building  project,  and  was  greatly  blessed  in  his  gift. 
The  result  of  the  subscriptions  and  collection  that  night  was  less  than 
$35,000,  but  the  sequel  showed  that  Mr.  Moody  understood  the  sit- 
uation. He  had  been  informed  that  many  who  were  interested  in  the 
business  enterprises  of  Scranton  lived  in  New  York  City  and  else- 
where, and  he  assured  the  people  of  Scranton  that  the  building  would 
soon  be  erected. 

"  That  night  we  took  the  train  for  the  next  place  of  meeting,  Ger- 
mantown,  Philadelphia.  I  was  anxious  about  the  situation  at  Scran- 
ton, and  was  wondering  where  the  rest  of  the  money  would  come 
from  for  the  building.  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me,  '  Write  to  your 
friends  in  New  York  and  find  out  if  Mr.  Samuel  Sloan,  the  president 
of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western  Railroad,  will  be  in  his 
office  on  Saturday,  and  at  what  hour,  and  tell  them  to  telegraph  you 
in  Philadelphia.'  After  the  Germantown  meeting  we  were  invited  to 
take  breakfast  at  Mr.  John  Wanamaker's  on  Saturday,  where  a  large 
company  were  present.  While  we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  meal,  I  re- 
ceived a  telegram  stating  that  Mr.  Sloan  would  be  in  his  office  in  New 
York  that  day  at  a  certain  hour.  I  handed  it  to  Mr.  Moody;  he  read 
it,  and  immediately  arose  from  the  table  and  said,  '  Friends,  I  am 
sorry  to  leave  you,  but  the  King's  business  requires  haste,'  and  in  a 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  481 

few  minutes  he  was  on  the  train  for  New  York.  Calling  upon  Mr. 
Sloan,  he  soon  secured  his  hearty  cooperation  in  the  proposed  Scran- 
ton  building.  While  thus  engaged  in  conversation  an  old  gentleman  ' 
came  in,  to  whom  Mr.  Sloan  introduced  Mr.  Moody,  saying,  '  This  is 
just  the  man  you  want  to  see  to  help  you  at  Scranton.'  Before  Mr.  ' 
Moody  could  say  a  word,  the  old  man  said,  '  Is  this  the  man  who  has  I 
been  creating  the  great  stir  at  Scranton  ?  I  am  afraid  he  is  getting  the 
people  to  give  more  than  they  are  able;  I  will  not  give  anything;  I 
have  given  away  over  $700,003  to  various  things  within  a  short  time. 
Why  don't  you  go  to  the  people  who  don't  give  anything  instead  of 
coming  to  us  who  give  ?  '  Mr.  Moody  said, '  I  would  like  to  tell  you  a 
short  story.'  '  No,'  said  the  old  gentleman,  '  I  don't  want  to  hear  any 
story.'  'You  must  sit  down  and  hear  this  story,'  interposed  Mr.  Sloan. 
'  Mr.  Moody,  you  must  not  be  discouraged;  this  is  the  way  he  always 
does  when  he  is  making  up  his  mind  to  give.'  Finally  the  disturbed 
old  gentleman  listened  as  Mr.  Moody  went  on.  '  There  was  a  man 
once  who  went  to  solicit  money  and  came  to  one  who  made  your  ob- 
jection, "  Why  don't  you  go  to  the  people  who  never  give,  instead  of 
to  us  who  do  give?  "  To  this  the  solicitor  replied,  "  If  you  wanted  a 
good  pail  of  milk,  would  you  go  to  a  cow  that  was  milked  regularly  or 
to  one  that  was  only  milked  once  in  a  long  time  ?  "  The  story  had  the 
desired  result,  and  Mr.  Sloan  assured  Mr.  Moody  that, '  although  our 
friend  doesn't  laugh  now,  you  will  not  be  away  from  here  ten  min- 
utes before  he  will  be  in  all  the  offices  of  this  building,  telling  what 
a  good  story  Moody  told. ' 

"Mr.  Moody  said  nothing  more,  but  in  a  few  days  a  subscription 
came  from  the  old  gentleman  for  $5,000.  The  result  of  Mr.  Moody's 
efforts  on  his  rest  day  in  New  York  for  the  Scranton  fund  was  an 
assured  increase  of  nearly  $30,000  more,  making  a  total  of  over 
$60,000  in  less  than  four  days;  the  whole  amount  needed,  $75,000, 
was  secured  in  less  than  six  weeks.  He  often  related  this  experience, 
and  called  it  a  '  red  letter  week.' 

"  I  had  tried  for  some  time  to  think  of  some  one  with  whom  Mr. 


482  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

Moody  was  not  acquainted,  to  assist  him  with  more  than  an  ordinary 
contribution  in  his  educational  work  at  Northfield.  After  con- 
siderable thought  I  said,  '  I  have  a  friend  in  the  oil  regions  whom 
I  have  known  for  a  long  time.  I  knew  him  when  he  was  poor, 
and  he  is  now  prosperous,  and  his  prosperity  has  not  hurt  his  Chris- 
tian character.  I  wish  you  would  write  to  him  explaining  your  work 
and  its  needs.'  A  short  time  after  this  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Moody,  in  which  he  said,  '  The  Lord  answers  prayer,  and  I  must  tes- 
tify to  His  goodness.  I  wrote  to  your  friend,  and,  after  finishing  the 
letter,  I  prayed  that  God  might  incline  him  to  give  the  sum  I  had 
named,  if  he  was  able  to  give  it.  He  has  sent  me  his  check  for 
$5,000.'  Some  days  afterwards  I  was  in  the  place  where  this  man 
resided  and  called  upon  him.  He  said  to  me,  '  I  think  you  must 
have  set  Mr.  Moody  after  me,  as  I  have  never  met  him.  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  asking  me  for  $5,000  for  his  schools  in  Northfield. 
When  I  read  the  letter  I  thought  I  could  not  give  anything,  then  I 
thought  I  would  send  $500  anyhow.  In  a  little  while  I  raised  it  to 
$1,000.  On  my  way  home  to  luncheon  I  thought  of  the  hundreds  of 
poor  young  men  and  women  getting  an  education  for  $100  a  year 
and  the  large  extra  expense  resting  on  Mr.  Moody,  for  which  he  must 
make  provision,  and  the  thought  came  to  me,  "  Make  it  $2,500."  Be- 
fore I  reached  home  I  thought,  if  my  wife  agreed  with  me,  I  would 
make  it  $5,000.  When  I  showed  her  the  letter  she  said,  "  Give  him 
the  sum  he  asks  for."  This  all  occurred  within  an  hour,  and  that 
afternoon  I  sent  him  my  check  for  the  full  amount. ' " 

The  Rev.  George  A.  Hall,  at  present  one  of  the  State  secretaries  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  New  York,  was  one  of 
Mr.  Moody's  warmest  friends  for  twenty-five  years.  He  prizes 
greatly  two  letters,  the  first  received  at  the  beginning  and  the  other  at 
the  end  of  that  close  friendship.  When  Mr.  Moody  left  Brooklyn 
for  Philadelphia,  in  November,  1875,  and  put  Mr.  Hall  in  charge  of 
the  young  men's  meeting  there,  he  wrote : 

"  MY  DEAR  HALL  :  I  wish  you  would  drop  me  a  line  and  let  me 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  483 

know  how  the  work  goes.  I  do  hope  you  can  arrange  t©  stay  in 
Brooklyn  this  winter.  If  you  can,  I  will  try  and  help  you  some  time 
this  winter  or  spring.  The  work  there  has  stirred  up  the  young  men 
in  this  city,  and  there  is  a  great  work  started,  although  I  have  not 
said  one  word  to  the  unconverted  yet.  I  am  just  sure  God  is  going 
to  do  a  great  work  this  winter,  and  I  do  hope  you  will  stand  by  me. 
The  eyes  of  the  world  are  on  Brooklyn  now,  and  it  is  quite  important 
that  the  work  be  kept  up  there.  Much  love  to  all  the  young 
men." 

While  on  his  way  to  Kansas  City,  November  8,  1899,  Mr.  Moody 
stopped  in  Philadelphia,  and  then  wrote  the  following  letter,  which 
serves  as  a  valedictory : 

"  DEAR  HALL  :  It  will  be  a  treat  to  be  in  a  convention  with  you  once 
more,  and,  God  willing,  I  will  be  with  you.  It  must  be  hard  on  to 
thirty  years  since  we  were  at  Pontiac,  111.,  with  our  friend,  Culver, 
who  has  gone  home.  What  an  army  has  gone  since  then !  What  a 
grand  time  we  will  all  have  when  we  get  home !  I  am  on  my  way  to 
Kansas  City." 

Nor  were  Mr.  Moody's  labors  for  American  Associations  only. 
At  his  suggestion  and  by  his  efforts  Lord  Overtoun  undertook  the 
Glasgow  Bible  Training  Institute,  which  is  equipping  trained  work- 
ers for  Christian  service.  In  Aberdeen  Mr.  Moody  raised  $25,000 
for  the  erection  of  a  building  for  the  local  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  and  in  Dundee  succeeded  in  raising  $27,000  for  a  similar 
purpose.  In  other  cities  he  aided  indirectly  in  the  work,  laying  a 
memorial  stone  in  the  Liverpool  Association  in  1876,  and  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Cork  Association  in  1892. 

Owing  to  his  efforts  several  missions  have  been  erected  as  living 
testimonies  of  the  permanency  of  the  evangelistic  missions  con- 
ducted, and,  with  many  of  these,  local  Associations  are  affiliated  and 
in  active  cooperation. 

At  a  memorial  service  held  by  the  Chicago  Association  after  Mr. 
Moody's  death  the  following  resolution,  combining  a  brief  history  of 


484  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

his  relations  with  that  organization  as  well  as  a  tribute  to  his  memory, 
was  adopted : 

MEMORIAL    TRIBUTE    TO  DWIGHT  L.    MOODY 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Chicago  holds  this  me- 
morial meeting  to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  and  character  of  Dwight 
L.  Moody.  The  great  work  of  Mr.  Moody's  life  was  not  local  or 
limited.  His  name  has  long  ceased  to  be  a  Chicago  possession.  Yet 
while  the  voices  of  two  continents  recount  his  services  in  every  strain 
of  affectionate  appreciation  we  may  here  recall  the  days  and  deeds 
which  prepared  him  for  his  larger  career. 

The  services  of  Mr.  Moody  to  this  Association  in  its  early  days 
were  of  inestimable  value.  From  1861  to  1870  he  was  the  most  active 
and  persistent  leader  in  the  work  of  the  Association.  During  part  of 
this  time  he  was  the  librarian,  a  position  which  afterward  grew  into  the 
general  secretaryship.  From  1865  to  1869  he  was  the  acting  presi- 
dent of  the  Association.  He  gave  to  it  the  first  years  in  which  he 
wholly  devoted  himself  to  Christian  work.  Before  this  a  well-known 
business  man,  in  whose  store  he  was  employed,  said  of  him,  "Mr. 
Moody  would  make  quite  a  good  clerk  if  he  had  not  so  many  other  things 
on  his  hands."  Those  "  other  things  "  were  the  eternal  interests  of  his 
fellowmen  ;  and  such  a  spirit  as  his  could  not  long  be  confined  even  by 
the  bonds  that  hold  most  men  to  the  appointed  tasks  by  which  they  earn 
their  daily  bread.  With  an  enthusiasm  that  could  not  be  dampened  and 
an  energy  that  continued  to  the  end,  Mr.  Moody  entered  upon  the  minis- 
try to  which  he  was  called  of  God.  It  will  ever  remain  a  precious  mem- 
ory of  this  Association  that  he  began  here  this  larger  ministry,  and 
obtained  here  the  preparation  so  needful  for  his  subsequent  career.  What 
he  did  for  communities  and  for  nations  in  later  years  he  did  for  this 
Association  in  its  earlier  days. 

This  Association  has  claimed  him  as  its  greatest  single  champion.  For 
years  he  was  its  leading  delegate  to  Association  conventions,  where  he 
stood  for  the  supremacy,  even  to  exclusiveness,  of  evangelistic  work  in 
the  Associations.  During  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War  he  was  the 
leading  spirit  in  making  the  Association  a  power  for  good  in  the  armies 


COLLEGE  STUDENTS'  CONFERENCE. 


A  CORNER  IN  THE  COLLEGE  CAMP. 


MR.  MOODY  AND  HIS  GRANDDAUGHTER  IRENE. 


Later  Experiences  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  487 

of  the  Union  as  well  as  at  home.  He  was  active  in  securing  its  first, 
second,  and  third  buildings.  The  first,  Farwell  Hall,  which  was  also 
the  first  Association  building  in  the  world,  was  opened  in  1867,  while 
Mr.  Moody  was  president  of  the  Association.  Four  months  later  it  was 
burned  to  the  ground.  "  When  the  flames  were  fiercest  the  call  for 
prayer  was  sounded,  and  the  daily  prayer-meeting  gathered  in  the  lecture- 
room  of  the  Methodist  Church  at  the  usual  hour  for  prayer  and  praise." 
After  the  great  fire  of  i8fi,  in  which  the  second  building  was  burned, 
Mr.  Moody  served  on  a  strong  committee  of  the  Association  for  general 
relief  work.  He  also,  for  some  time  afterward,  rendered  various  and 
important  services  to  the  Association.  Only  last  year,  in  connection  with 
the  fortieth  anniversary  services,  he  expressed  the  hope  "  that  the  great- 
est work  and  greatest  successes  of  the  Association  are  yet  before  it." 

The  Chicago  Association  honors  and  cherishes  the  memory  of  Dwight 
L.  Moody  for  what  he  wrought  here,  and  for  the  greater  work  which  he 
has  since  pursued  with  such  success  for  the  world's  evangelization.  It 
rejoices  that  one  whose  training  in  Christian  work  was  in  part  obtained 
in  its  service  should  be  so  manifestly  used  of  God  to  advance  His  King- 
dom among  men.  It  extends  its  sincere  sympathy  to  the  members  of  the 
family  in  this  hour  of  bereavement. 

27 


CHAPTER   XLI 
THE  INQUIRY-ROOM 

IT  will  be  remembered  that  just  before  Chicago  was  destroyed  by 
flames  in  1871  Mr.  Moody  had  dismissed  an  audience,  telling 
them  to  go  home  and  think  what  they  would  do  with  Christ.  He 
never  met  them  again.  This  dismissal  he  regarded  as  one  of  the 
greatest  mistakes  of  his  life,  -and  he  determined  never  to  repeat  it. 
From  that  time  on  he  laid  great  stress  on  the  after-meeting,  which 
took  place  at  the  close  of  an  evangelistic  address,  in  which  he  tried 
to  bring  individual  souls  to  an  immediate  decision  as  to  the  great 
issues  he  had  just  brought  before  them.  These  meetings  were  prob- 
ably the  most  characteristic  and  original  feature  of  his  work. 

"  Personal  dealing  is  of  the  most  vital  importance,"  said  Mr. 
Moody  in  discussing  the  inquiry-room  and  its  uses.  "  No  one  can 
tell  how  many  souls  have  been  lost  through  lack  of  following  up  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  by  personal  work.  It  is  deplorable  how  few 
church  members  are  qualified  to  deal  with  inquirers.  And  yet  that 
is  the  very  work  in  which  they  ought  to  aid  the  pastor  most  efficiently. 
People  are  not  usually  converted  under  the  preaching  of  the  minister. 
It  is  in  the  inquiry  meeting  that  they  are  most  likely  to  be  brought 
to  Christ. 

"  Some  people  can't  see  the  use  of  the  inquiry  meetings;  they  think 
they  are  something  new,  and  that  we  haven't  any  authority  for  them. 
But  they  are  no  innovation.  We  read  about  them  all  through  the 
Bible.  When  John  the  Baptist  was  preaching  he  was  interrupted. 
It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  people  would  interrupt  the  minister  now 


The  Inquiry-room  489 

and  then  in  the  middle  of  some  metaphysical  sermon  and  ask  what  he 
means.  The  only  way  to  make  sure  that  people  understand  what  he 
is  talking  about  is  to  let  them  ask  questions.  I  don't  know  what 
some  men  who  have  got  the  whole  thing  written  out  would  do  if  some 
one  should  get  up  and  ask, '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  '  Yet  such 
questions  would  do  more  good  than  anything  else  you  could  have.. 
They  would  wake  up  a  spirit  of  inquiry. 

"  Some  people  say,  '  All  you  want  to  do  is  to  make  the  preaching 
so  plain  that  plain  people  will  understand  it.'  Well,  Christ  was  a 
plain  preacher,  and  yet  he  asked,  'Have  ye  understood  all  these 
things?'  (Matt.  xiii.  51.)  He  encouraged  them  to  inquire.  I  think 
sometimes,  when  the  minister  is  preaching  over  their  heads,  people 
would  be  greatly  relieved  if  he  would  stop  and  ask  whether  they 
understood  it.  His  very  object  is  to  make  the  Word  of  God  clear. 
Christ  was  a  plain  preacher;  but  when  He  preached  to  Saul  the  man 
was  only  awakened.  Christ  could  have  convicted  and  converted  him, 
but  He  honored  a  human  agency,  and  sent  Ananias  to  tell  the  word 
whereby  he  was  to  be  saved.  Philip  was  sent  away  into  the  desert 
to  talk  to  one  man  in  the  chariot.  We  must  have  personal  work — 
hand-to-hand  work — if  we  are  going  to  have  results. 

"  I  admit  you  can't  lay  down  rules  in  dealing  with  inquirers.  There 
are  no  two  persons  exactly  alike.  Matthew  and  Paul  were  a  good 
way  apart,  and  the  people  we  deal  with  may  be  widely  different. 
What  would  be  medicine  for  one  might  be  rank  poison  for  another. 
In  the  fifteenth  of  Luke  the  elder  son  and  the  younger  son  were 
exactly  opposite.  What  would  have  been  good  counsel  for  one  might 
have  been  ruin  for  the  other.  God  never  made  two  persons  to  look 
alike.  If  we  had  made  men,  probably  we  would  have  made  them 
all  alike,  even  if  we  had  to  crush  some  bones  to  get  them  into  the 
mould.  But  that  is  not  God's  way.  In  the  universe  there  is  infinite 
variety.  The  Philippian  jailer  required  peculiar  treatment;  Christ 
dealt  with  Nicodemus  one  way  and  with  the  woman  at  tEe  well 
another  way.  It  is  difficult  to  say  just  how  people  are  to  be  saved,  yet 


49o  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

there  are  certain  portions  of  Scripture  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  on 
certain  classes  of  inquirers. 

"  I  think  it  is  a  great  mistake,  in  dealing  with  inquirers,  to  tell  your 
own  experience.  Experience  may  have  its  place,  but  I  don't  think  it 
has  its  place  when  you  are  talking  with  them.  For  the  first  thing 
the  man  you  are  talking  to  will  do  will  be  to  look  for  your  experience 
in  his  case.  He  doesn't  want  your  experience;  he  wants  one  of  his 
own.  No  two  persons  are  converted  alike.  Suppose  Bartimaeus  had 
gone  to  Jerusalem  to  the  man  that  was  born  blind  and  said,  '  Now, 
just  tell  us  how  the  Lord  cured  you.'  The  Jerusalem  man  might 
have  said, '  He  just  spat  on  the  ground  and  anointed  my  eyes  with  the 
clay.'  '  Ho ! '  says  Bartimaeus,  '  I  don't  believe  you  ever  got  your 
sight  at  all.  Who  ever  heard  of  such  a  way  as  that  ?  Why,  to  fill  a 
man's  eyes  with  clay  is  enough  to  put  them  out ! '  Both  men  were 
blind,  but  they  were  not  cured  alike.  A  great  many  men  are  kept 
out  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  because  they  are  looking  for  somebody 
else's  experience — the  experience  their  grandmother  had,  or  their 
aunt,  or  some  one  in  the  family. 

"Always  use  your  Bible  in  personal  dealing.  Do  not  tiust  to 
memory,  but  make  the  person  read  the  verse  for  himself.  Do  not 
use  printed  slips  or  books.  Hence,  if  convenient,  always  carry  a 
Bible  or  New  Testament  with  you. 

"  It  is  a  good  thing  to  get  a  man  on  his  knees,  but  don't  get  him 
there  before  he  is  ready.  You  may  have  to  talk  with  him  two  hours 
before  you  can  get  him  that  far  along.  But  when  you  think  he  is 
about  ready,  say,  '  Shall  we  not  ask  God  to  give  us  light  on  this 
point? ' 

"  Sometimes  a  few  minutes  in  prayer  have  done  more  for  a  man 
than  two  hours  in  talk.  When  the  Spirit  of  God  has  led  him  so 
far  that  he  is  willing  to  have  you  pray  with  him,  he  is  not  very  far 
from  the  Kingdom.  Ask  him  to  pray  for  himself.  If  he  doesn't  want 
to  pray,  let  him  use  a  Bible  prayer ;  get  him  to  repeat,  for  example, 
'  Lord  help  me ! '  Tell  the  man,  '  If  the  Lord  helped  that  poor 


The  Inquiry-room  491 

woman,  He  will  help  you  if  you  make  the  same  prayer.  He  will  give 
you  a  new  heart  if  you  pray  from  the  heart.'  Don't  send  a  man  home 
to  pray.  Of  course  he  should  pray  at  home,  but  I  would  rather  get 
his  lips  open  at  once.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  a  man  to  hear  his  own 
voice  in  prayer.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  him  to  cry  out, '  God  be  merci- 
ful to  me,  a  sinner ! ' 

"  Urge  an  immediate  decision,  but  never  tell  a  man  he  is  converted. 
Never  tell  him  he  is  saved.  Let  the  Holy  Spirit  reveal  that  to  him. 
You  can  shoot  a  man  and  see  that  he  is  dead,  but  you  cannot  see 
when  a  man  receives  eternal  life.  You  can't  afford  to  deceive  any  one 
about  this  great  question.  But  you  can  help  his  faith  and  trust,  and 
lead  him  aright. 

"  Always  be  prepared  to  do  personal  work.  When  war  was  de- 
clared between  France  and  Germany,  Count  von  Moltke,  the  German 
general,  was  prepared  for  it.  Word  was  brought  to  him  late  at  night, 
after  he  had  gone  to  bed.  '  Very  well,'  he  said  to  the  messenger,  '  the 
third  portfolio  on  the  left ! '  and  he  went  to  sleep  again. 

"  Do  the  work  boldly.  Don't  take  those  in  a  position  in  life  above 
your  own,  but,  as  a  rule,  take  those  on  the  same  footing.  Don't  deal 
with  a  person  of  opposite  sex  if  it  can  be  otherwise  arranged.  Bend 
all  your  endeavors  to  answer  for  poor,  struggling  souls  that  question 
of  such  importance  to  them, '  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  ' ' 

Mr.  Moody  summarized  his  suggestions  on  this  important  subject 
thus: 

"  (i)  Have  for  constant  use  a  portable  reference  Bible,  a  Cruden's 
Concordance,  and  a  Topical  Text-book. 

"  (2)  Always  carry  a  Bible  or  Testament  in  your  pocket,  and  do 
not  be  ashamed  of  people  seeing  you  read  it  on  trains,  etc. 

"  (3)  Do  not  be  afraid  of  marking  it  or  making  marginal  notes. 
Mark  texts  that  contain  promises,  exhortations,  warnings  to  sin- 
ners and  to  Christians,  gospel  invitations  to  the  unconverted,  and 
so  on. 

"  (4)  Set  apart  at  least  fifteen  minutes  a  day  for  study  and  medita- 


492 


The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 


tion.  This  little  time  will  have  great  results  and  will  never  be  re- 
gretted. 

"  (5)  l Prepare  your  heart  to  know  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  to  do  it.' 
(Ezra,  vii.  10.) 

"  (6)  Always  ask  God  to  open  the  eyes  of  your  understanding  that 
you  may  see  the  truth,  and  expect  that  He  will  answer  your  prayer. 

"  (7)  Cast  every  burden  of  doubt  upon  the  Lord.  '  He  will  never 
suffer  the  righteous  to  be  moved!  Do  not  be  afraid  to  look  for  a 
reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  you. 

"(8)  Believe  in  the  Bible  as  God's  revelation  to  you,  and  act  accord- 
ingly. Do  not  reject  any  portion  because  it  contains  the  supernatu- 
ral or  because  you  cannot  understand  it.  Reverence  all  Scripture. 
Remember  God's  own  estimate  of  it :  '  Thou  hast  magnified  Thy  Word 
above  all  Thy  Name. ' 

"  (9)  Learn  at  least  one  verse  of  the  Scripture  each  day.  Verses 
committed  to  memory  will  be  wonderfully  useful  in  your  daily  life  and 
walk.  '  Thy  Word  have  I  hid  in  mine  heart,  that  I  might  not  sin 
against  Thee!  Some  Christians  can  quote  Shakespeare  and  Long- 
fellow better  than  the  Bible. 

"  (10)  If  you  are  a  preacher  or  a  Sunday-school  teacher  try  at 
any  cost  to  master  your  Bible.  You  ought  to  know  it  better  than 
any  one  in  your  congregation  or  class. 

"  (n)  Strive  to  be  exact  in  quoting  Scripture. 

"(12)  Adopt  some  systematic  plan  of  Bible  study:  either 
topical,  or  by  subjects,  like  '  The  Blood,'  '  Prayer,'  '  Hope,' 
etc.,  or  by  books,  or  by  some  other  plan  outlined  in  the  preceding 
pages. 

"  (13)  Study  to  know  for  what  and  to  whom  each  book  of  the 
Bible  was  written.  Combine  the  Old  Testament  with  the  New. 
Study  Hebrews  and  Leviticus  together,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and 
the  Epistles,  the  Prophets  and  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

"  (14)  Study  how  to  use  the  Bible  so  as  to  '  walk  with  God '  in 


The  Inquiry-room  493 

closer  communion,  also  so  as  to  gain  a  working  knowledge  of  Scrip- 
ture for  leading  others  to  Christ.  An  old  minister  used  to  say  that 
the  cries  of  neglected  texts  were  always  sounding  in  his  ears,  asking 
why  he  did  not  show  how  important  they  were. 

"(15)  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  simply  reading  a  chapter  daily. 
Study  the  meaning  of  at  least  one  verse." 


CHAPTER    XLII 
His  BELIEF  AND  PRACTICE 

IN  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Moody's  public  efforts  his  work,  being 
independent  of  and  outside  the  established  churches,  was 
often  misunderstood  by  clergymen.  He  felt  that  there  were 
scores  of  men  in  every  denomination  who  could  reach  the  people  far 
better  than  he,  if  they  would  but  lay  aside  a  little  clerical  dignity  and 
make  the  outsiders  feel  that  the  church  was  as  desirous  for  their 
salvation  as  was  the  Master.  In  his  later  years  he  worked  more  in 
harmony  with  the  ministers,  and  won  the  confidence  of  the  great 
majority,  hundreds  availing  themselves  every  year  of  his  invitation 
to  Northfield. 

He  did  not  mince  words  when  he  felt  that  criticism  was  a  duty. 
His  picture  of  a  man  following  his  minister's  sermons  carefully  and 
cutting  out  of  a  Bible  whatever  the  minister  said  was  not  authentic, 
was  amusing,  though  sad.  One  day  this  man  carried  to  his  pastor 
a  badly  mutilated  Bible,  from  which  numerous  leaves  and  parts  of 
leaves  had  been  cut,  saying : 

"  Here,  Pastor,  is  your  Bible." 

"  My  Bible?  "  said  the  clergyman  impatiently. 

"  Yes;  I  have  cut  out  all  that  you  say  is  fable  and  allegory  and  folk- 
lore and  also  the  mythical  and  so-called  unauthentic  parts,  and  here 
is  what  is  left." 

"  Give  it  to  me,"  said  the  preacher. 

"  No,  you  don't,"  the  man  replied.  "  You  haven't  touched  the 
covers  yet,  and  I  am  going  to  cling  to  them  at  least." 


His  Belief  and  Practice  495 

"  I  believe,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  that  there  are  a  good  many  schol- 
ars in  these  days,  as  there  were  when  Paul  lived,  '  who,  professing 
themselves  to  be  wise,  have  become  fools  ';  but  I  don't  think  they  are 
those  who  hold  to  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  I  have  said  that  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel  who  are  cutting  up  the  Bible  in  this  way,  denying 
Moses  to-day  and  Isaiah  to-morrow,  and  Daniel  the  next  day  and 
Jonah  the  next,  are  doing  great  injury  to  the  church;  and  I  stand  by 
what  I  have  said.  I  don't  say  that  they  are  bad  men.  They  may  be 
good  men,  but  that  makes  the  results  of  their  work  all  the  worse.  Do 
they  think  they  will  recommend  the  Bible  to  the  finite  and  fallen 
reason  of  men  by  taking  the  supernatural  out  of  it?  They  are  doing 
just  the  opposite.  They  are  emptying  the  churches  and  driving  the 
young  men  of  this  generation  into  infidelity. 

"  My  mind  is  made  up,"  he  said  at  another  time,  "  on  the  question 
proposed;  namely,  the  relative  merits  of  Christianity  and  infidelity, 
under  whatever  name  it  appears.  Somebody  once  asked  Charles 
Sumner  to  hear  the  other  side  of  slavery.  '  Hear  the  other  side? ' 
he  replied,  '  there  is  no  other  side.'  I  would  as  soon  discuss  the 
merits  of  Christianity  and  infidelity  as  the  common  laws  of  morality." 

For  honest  doubt  he  had  the  utmost  sympathy,  and  he  spared 
neither  time  nor  effort  to  lead  a  man  to  make  a  right  decision,  but 
he  had  no  patience  with  a  man  who  asked  him  hard  questions  simply 
for  the  sake  of  argument.  No  man  could  distinguish  between  the 
real  and  the  false  more  readily.  He  often  told  this  experience : 

"  A  man  came  to  me  with  a  difficult  passage  in  the  Bible  and  said : 

"  '  Mr.  Moody,  what  do  you  do  with  that?  ' 

"  '  I  do  not  do  anything  with  it/ 

"  '  How  do  you  understand  it? ' 

"  '  I  do  not  understand  it.' 

"  '  How  do  you  explain  it? ' 

"  '  I  do  not  explain  it.' 

"  '  What  do  you  do  with  it  ?  ' 

" '  I  do  not  do  anything  with  it/ 


496  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

"  '  You  do  not  believe  it,  do  you  ?  ' 

"  '  Oh,  yes,  I  believe  it.' 

"  '  Well,  you  don't  accept  anything  you  can't  understand,  do  you?  ' 

" '  Yes,  I  certainly  do.  There  are  lots  of  things  I  do  not  under- 
stand, but  I  believe  them.  I  do  not  know  anything  about  higher 
mathematics,  but  I  believe  in  them.  I  do  not  understand  astronomy, 
but  I  believe  in  astronomy.  Can  you  tell  me  why  the  same  kind  of 
food  turns  into  flesh,  fish,  hair,  feathers,  or  hoofs,  according  as  it  is 
eaten  by  one  animal  or  another?  A  man  told  me  a  while  ago  he  would 
not  believe  a  thing  he  had  never  seen,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever 
seen  his  own  brain?  Did  you  ever  notice  that  the  things  at  which 
men  cavil  most  are  the  very  things  on  which  Christ  has  set  His 
seal?'" 

When  a  liberal  preacher  declared  that  the  story  of  Jonah  and  the 
whale  was  a  myth,  reporters  asked  Mr.  Moody  his  opinion  of  the 
question.  His  reply,  contained  in  four  words,  was  telegraphed  far 
and  wide: 

"  I  stand  by  Jonah." 

While  holding  tenaciously  to  the  Bible  as  the  inspired  Word  of 
God,  and  preaching  the  doctrines  with  Calvinistic  fervor,  he  had 
sympathy  with  men  who  looked  at  truth  from  a  different  view-point, 
if  the  difference  was  merely  intellectual.  When  Lord  Overtoun  in- 
vited him  in  the  name  of  many  Scotch  Christians  to  return  to  Scot- 
land and  hold  evangelistic  services  there  in  1899,  Mr.  Moody  was 
obliged  to  decline,  and  in  doing  so  said : 

"  The  work  in  my  own  country  has  never  been  so  promising  as  it 
is  now.  Destructive  theology  on  the  one  side  and  the  no  less  evil 
spirit  of  extreme  intolerance  on  the  other  side  have  wrought  wide 
dissensions  in  many  communities  in  America.  Instead  of  fighting 
error  by  the  emphasis  of  truth,  there  has  been  too  much  '  splitting 
of  hairs,'  and  too  often  an  unchristian  spirit  of  bitterness.  This 
has  frequently  resulted  in  depleted  churches,  and  has  opened  the  way 
for  the  entrance  of  still  greater  errors.  Under  these  conditions  the 


His  Belief  and  Practice  497 

question  of  the  authorship  of  the  individual  books  of  the  Bible  has 
become  of  less  immediate  importance  than  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible 
itself;  the  question  of  the  two  Isaiahs  less  urgent  than  a  familiarity 
with  the  prophecy  itself." 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  firmly  he  clung  to 
the  Word  of  God  : 

"  Why  should  I  get  a  new  remedy  for  sin  when  I  have  found  one 
that  has  never  failed  ?  "  he  said.  "  The  Gospel  has  stood  the  test  for 
eighteen  centuries.  I  know  what  it  will  do  for  sin-sick  souls.  I  have 
tried  its  power  for  forty  years.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  few  men, 
otherwise  well  educated,  are  acquainted  with  the  English  Bible.  I 
can  secure  a  hundred  men  who  can  teach  Greek  and  Latin  well  where 
I  can  find  only  one  that  can  teach  the  Bible  well. 

"  Take  the  Bible;  study  it;  leave  criticism  to  the  theologians;  feed 
on  the  Word;  then  go  out  to  work.  Combine  the  two — study  and 
work — if  you  would  be  a  full-orbed  Christian.  The  Bible  is  assailed 
as  never  before.  Infidels  cast  it  overboard,  but  it  will  always  swim  to 
the  shore.  The  doctrines,  the  promises,  the  messages  of  love  are  as 
fresh  to-day  as  when  first  spoken.  Pass  on  the  message;  be  obedient 
to  commands;  waste  no  time  in  discussion;  let  speculation  and  theo- 
rizing pass  into  the  hands  of  those  who  like  that  kind  of  study.  Be 
willing  to  do  little  things  for  the  Master." 

In  the  last  summer  of  his  life  Mr.  Moody  thus  defined  the  North- 
field  platform : 

"  The  central  idea  of  the  Northfield  Conference  is  Christian  unity, 
and  the  invitation  is  to  all  denominations  and  to  all  wings  of  de- 
nominations; but  it  is  understood  that  along  with  the  idea  of  Chris- 
tian unity  goes  the  Bible  as  it  stands.  We  seek  at  these  meetings  to 
find  points  of  common  belief.  Too  frequently  when  Christians  get 
together  they  seek  for  the  points  upon  which  they  differ,  and  then 
go  at  it.  The  Christian  denominations  too  often  present  a  spectacle 
of  a  political  party  split  into  factions  and  unable  to  make  an  effective 
fight.  Do  you  know  that  every  twenty-four  hours  three  hundred 


498  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

persons  die  a  drunkard's  death  in  this  country  ?  In  the  last  four  years 
there  were  thirty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  twelve  murders 
in  this  country.  Here  are  things  to  unite  on  and  combat." 

Mr.  Moody  was  kindly  inclined  to  all  men  whom  he  felt  were  en- 
deavoring to  do  a  work  for  the  betterment  of  man,  and  although  there 
may  have  been  many  so-called  churches  with  which  he  could  by  no 
means  agree,  he  was  never  heard  to  speak  an  unkindly  word  regard- 
ing them.  His  theory  evidently  was  that  it  was  far  better  to  spend 
his  time  in  building  up  than  endeavoring  to  tear  down. 

Mr.  Moody  was,  until  his  death,  a  member  of  the  "  Chicago  Avenue 
Church  "  in  Chicago,  an  independent  organization,  although  formed 
on  Congregational  lines.  Started  as  a  home  for  the  converts  result- 
ing from  Mr.  Moody's  mission  work  in  North  Market  Hall,  its  pur- 
pose has  been  stated  thus : 

"  Our  church :  Unsectarian,  and  in  fellowship  with  all  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Our  theme :  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  Who  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  forever. 

"  Our  object :  The  perfecting  of  the  saints ;  the  salvation  of  the  lost. 

"  Our  hope :  The  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  present  membership  is  about  a  thousand.  The  average  atten- 
dance of  children  in  the  Sunday-school  is  close  on  two  thousand.  In 
the  congregation  the  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together;  the  learned 
and  the  ignorant  sit  side  by  side,  and  listen  with  pleasure  and  profit  to 
the  earnest  sermons  of  Dr.  Torrey.  After-meetings  are  frequently 
held,  and  conversions  are  constantly  occurring. 

The  Northfield  Church,  of  which  Mr.  Moody's  children  are  mem- 
bers and  which  Mr.  Moody  heartily  supported,  is  attended  by  the 
students  from  the  Seminary  and  the  Training-school.  Before  the 
Mount  Hermon  chapel  was  built  the  students  from  that  school  walked 
over  every  Sunday  to  the  morning  service. 

Dr.  C.  I.  Scofield,  writing  of  Mr.  Moody  as  an  evangelist,  calls  at- 
tention to  his  strength  and  faithfulness  under  the  trial  of  temptation : 


His  Belief  and  Practice  499 

"  Three  supreme  testings  await  strong  men  in  this  life,"  he  says — 
"  the  testing  of  poverty  and  obscurity,  of  prosperity  and  applause, 
and  of  suffering.  Many  who  enter  life  conscious,  even  though  dimly, 
of  great  latent  capacities  turn  sour  and  bitter  under  neglect,  narrow 
circumstances,  and  lack  of  appreciation.  Others  who  pass  that  first 
trial  successfully  are  corrupted  or  enfeebled  by  success  and  adulation. 
Many  who  stand  erect  alike  in  obscurity  and  success  fail  utterly  under 
the  testing  of  suffering.  By  God's  grace  Mr.  Moody  passed  un- 
scathed through  them  all.  Perhaps  it  has  happened  to  few  men,  sud- 
denly lifted  into  the  fellowship  of  the  noble  and  famous  of  the  earth, 
to  be  so  little  moved  from  the  serenity  of  their  minds,  the  even  tenor 
of  their  ways. 

"  Doubtless  this  self-poise  was  in  part  an  inheritance — the  hill-town 
New  Englander's  habitual  self-respect.  But  doubtless,  too,  Mr. 
Moody  had  so  great  a  sense  of  the  essential  dignity  of  even  the  least 
of  the  sons  of  God,  that  he  was  little  affected  by  earthly  titles  or  per- 
sonal fame. 

"  On  one  occasion  it  was  whispered  to  him,  with  some  agitation, 
that  a  certain  exalted  personage  had  entered  the  hall. 

"  Mr.  Moody  quietly  replied : 

"  '  I  hope  she  may  be  much  blessed.' 

"  This  independence,  springing  as  it  did  from  elevation  and  sim- 
plicity of  character,  and  not  at  all  from  self-assertiveness,  commended 
Mr.  Moody  to  all. 

"  In  the  superficial  view  it  was  always  Mr.  Moody's  generalship, 
his  mastery  of  vast  numbers  of  men  gathered  in  meetings,  which  first 
impressed  the  observer ;  and  for  the  following  reason :  Mr.  Moody's 
grip  of  his  audience  was  not  due  in  the  first  instance  to  his  power  as 
a  preacher.  Other  men,  as  Whitefield  and  Wesley,  and  the  great 
Welsh  field-preachers,  have  drawn  vast  audiences,  and  have  in  the  end 
powerfully  swayed  them,  however  turbulent  or  tumultuous  they  may 
have  been  when  these  great  masters  of  the  '  royal  art  of  preaching  ' 
rose  to  address  them.  But  D.  L.  Moody  never  began  to  preach  until 


CQO  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

he  had  gathered  his  audience  into  almost  perfect  rapport  with  him- 
self. This  was  his  unique  distinction  among  other  equally  great 
preachers. 

"  To  accomplish  this  result  he  devised  a  method  perfectly  adapted 
to  himself,  but  which  in  the  hands  of  his  imitators  is  by  no  means  sure 
of  success.  Briefly,  it  was  the  conduct  of  a  remarkably  intense  and 
spiritual  preliminary  service  of  song  and  prayer,  interspersed  with 
brief,  pungent,  characteristic  sayings  of  his  own.  From  the  time  he 
came  before  his  great  audiences  to  the  moment  when  he  rose  to 
preach  he  kept  the  entire  body  absorbingly  occupied  with  something 
interesting.  Singing  by  the  great  massed  choir,  by  quartettes,  duet- 
ists,  soloists,  and  by  the  whole  assembly,  never  ceased,  except  for 
prayer.  But  it  would  be  an  utter  misapprehension  to  suppose  that 
either  Mr.  Moody's  purpose  or  the  actual  result  achieved  was  the 
entertainment  of  the  people.  His  own  manner  showed  at  once  his 
tremendous  earnestness,  his  profound  concern  for  souls. 

"  As  a  preacher  D.  L.  Moody  was  much  criticised  from  the  stand- 
point of  academic  homiletics.  Nor  would  any  think  of  defending  his 
preaching  method  on  that  ground.  But  the  fact  that  for  thirty-five 
continuous  years,  in  the  centres  of  culture  and  of  active  practical 
thought  in  the  English-speaking  world,  this  self-taught  preacher 
drew  the  greatest  audiences  which  have  faced  any  modern  speaker 
on  any  theme — this  fact,  one  would  say,  should  suggest  to  teachers 
of  homiletics  that  possibly  they  might  learn  something  from  him. 

"  His  method  was  devoid  of  mystery.  Drawing  his  matter  from  the 
Scriptures,  he  utterly  eschewed  formal  introduction,  and  plunged  at 
once  into  the  subject  itself.  He  came  early  into  the  possession  of  a 
strong  Saxon  vocabulary,  and  his  sense  taught  him  the  value  of  the 
short  sentence  and  of  aphoristic  forms. 

"  Of  all  this,  the  man  himself,  as  he  stood  before  his  audience,  was 
utterly  unconscious.  He  was  tremendously  in  earnest,  absolutely 
sincere,  perfectly  incapable  of  phrase-making.  It  was  his  supreme 
possession  by  the  Spirit,  united  with  his  powerful  understanding, 


His  Belief  and  Practice  501 

which  were  his  safeguards  against  bathos,  turgid  rhetoric,  pose,  and 
artifice.  Like  all  natural  orators,  he  made  great  and  effective  use  of 
illustration.  And  yet  it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  used  even  the  most 
telling  illustration  purely  for  effect.  He  told  an  anecdote,  or  referred 
to  a  Bible  story  or  incident,  because  it  made  his  point  clear. 

"  Among  his  natural  gifts  were  humor,  always  refined,  pathos,  and 
a  descriptive  power  which  was  due  to  his  imagination.  Few  men 
ever  equalled  him  in  ability  to  summon  before  an  audience  the  whole 
setting  of  a  Bible  incident.  And  he  had  the  sovereign  grace  of  brev- 
ity. He  knew  when  to  stop,  and  he  never  weakened  his  sermon  at 
the  close  by  recapitulation. " 


CHAPTER    XLIII 
TRAITS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS 

OF  some  prominent  preachers  it  has  been  said  that  when  you  see 
them  in  the  pulpit  you  wish  they  might  never  leave  it,  and 
when  you  see  them  out  of  it  you  wish  they  might  never 
enter  it.  This  could  never  be  said  of  D.  L.  Moody.  His  character 
could  bear  a  rigid  examination;  as  one  of  his  closest  friends  said, 
"  Doubtless  he  had  faults,  but  I  never  saw  them."  If  his  preaching 
was  persuasive  in  the  pulpit  while  addressing  thousands,  it  was  in  the 
quiet  seclusion  of  his  home  life,  or  in  the  companionship  of  a  few 
warm  friends,  that  he  was  most  truly  eloquent.  Impulsive,  energetic, 
and  resolute  by  nature,  he  yet  possessed  in  a  great  degree  the  quiet 
strength  of  patience,  sympathy,  and  unselfishness. 

To  the  stranger  his  most  prominent  characteristic  was  enthusiasm. 
Like  the  Apostle  Paul,  he  could  say,  "  For  me  to  live  is  Christ"  and  as 
a  result  of  that  life  his  gain  came  at  the  end  of  earth's  career.  "  This 
one  thing  I  do"  was  the  key  to  his  life  of  service.  Writing  to  Major 
Whittle  in  1874,  from  Scotland,  he  said:  "  I  have  done  one  thing  on 
this  trip,  and  the  work  is  wonderful.  One  thing  is  my  motto." 
Nothing  could  swerve  him  from  this  deep-rooted  purpose  of  his  life, 
and  in  all  the  various  educational  and  publishing  projects  to  which 
he  gave  his  energy  there  was  but  one  motive — the  proclamation  of 
the  Gospel  through  multiplied  agencies. 

But  all  this  enthusiasm  was  perfectly  controlled  by  what  was  perhaps 
his  most  remarkable  quality,  quoted  before  as  "  his  consecrated  com- 
mon sense."  While  his  enthusiasm  prompted  him  to  seize  every  avail- 


MR.   MOODY  AS  A  GRANDFATHER. 


MR.  MOODY  INSPECTING  NORTHFIELD  BUILDINGS. 


NORTHFIELD  SEMINARY  BUILDINGS. 


Traits  and  Characteristics  505 

able  opportunity  for  work,  it  was  his  keen  insight  into  the  conditions 
of  any  occasion  that  enabled  him  to  judge  of  its  fitness  for  his  special 
effort.  For  this  reason  he  frequently  stood  out  against  the  advice  of 
his  friends,  not  that  he  did  not  welcome  advice  and  appreciate  it,  but 
its  value  to  him  was  chiefly  suggestive,  and  if  no  new  view  of  the 
matter  was  offered  it  was  not  likely  to  be  followed.  To  such  an  ex- 
tent is  this  true  that  it  may  be  safely  said  that  in  the  beginning  of  all 
his  greatest  and  most  successful  efforts  he  stood  alone,  acting  against 
the  advice  of  those  best  able,  apparently,  to  judge  of  the  matter,  with 
the  one  exception  of  his  most  valued  human  adviser,  the  companion 
of  his  life,  his  wife.  He  entered  upon  his  first  campaign  in  Great 
Britain  against  the  counsel  of  all  his  friends;  against  the  advice  of 
everybody,  he  guaranteed  the  financial  liability  of  the  first  publication 
of  the  "Moody  and  Sankey  Hymns";  the  Northfield  schools  and  Chi- 
cago Bible  Institute  were  established  in  the  face  of  great  opposition, 
and  were  the  subject  of  much  criticism  until  they  demonstrated  their 
success;  and  as  to  the  founding  of  the  Colportage  Association,  it  was 
generally  felt  that  in  this  work,  at  least,  Mr.  Moody  had  exceeded  the 
limits  of  his  strength.  But  in  all  these  cases,  as  in  many  others,  the 
results  have  not  only  surprised  his  advisers,  but  have  far  surpassed 
even  the  founder's  expectations. 

To  many  men  of  less  simplicity  of  heart  such  evident  superiority  of 
judgment  would  have  resulted  in  an  intolerable  conceit.  But,  al- 
though Mr.  Moody  was  self-reliant — or,  more  truthfully,  God-reliant 
— he  was  humble  to  a  degree.  It  never  ceased  to  be  a  wonder  to  him 
that  people  wanted  to  hear  him  preach,  and  at  the  Northfield  confer- 
ences it  was  only  after  repeated  and  most  urgent  requests  that  he  could 
be  induced  to  include  himself  among  the  speakers.  "  I  haven't  the 
cheek  to  get  up  and  speak  when  all  these  great  preachers  are  here,"  he 
would  say  in  reply  to  the  urgent  invitations. 

The  well-known  head  of  a  prominent  lecture  bureau  relates  that, 
being  in  Chicago  with  Henry  Ward  Beecher  at  the  time  Mr.  Moody 
was  president  of  the  Association,  he  requested  him  to  introduce  Mr. 
28 


506  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Beecher  on  the  evening  of  the  lecture  for  which  he  was  engaged. 
"  What,"  responded  Mr.  Moody,  "  introduce  Beecher?  Not  I.  Ask 
me  to  black  his  boots  and  I'll  gladly  do  it."  It  is  well  known  that 
Mr.  Moody  was  much  impressed  by  Mr.  Beecher's  great  power  as  a 
preacher,  and  believed  he  might  very  largely  extend  his  influence, 
especially  over  young  men.  With  this  in  view  he  visited  Brooklyn 
and  urged  with  great  persistence  that  Mr.  Beecher  should  give  himself 
to  evangelistic  effort.  It  is  asserted  that  the  suggestion  was  actually 
considered  by  Mr.  Beecher,  and  that  for  a  time  he  seriously  contem- 
plated such  work. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  early  mission  in  Brooklyn  Mr.  Moody  was 
interviewed  by  a  representative  of  the  secular  press,  to  whose  inquiry 
regarding  his  training  for  evangelistic  work  he  made  this  characteristic 
response: 

"  I  am  the  most  overestimated  man  in  this  country.  For  some 
reason  the  people  look  upon  me  as  a  great  man,  but  I  am  only  a  lay 
preacher,  and  have  little  learning.  I  don't  know  what  will  become  of 
me  if  the  newspapers  continue  to  print  all  of  my  sermons.  My  stock 
will  be  exhausted  by  and  by,  and  I  must  repeat  old  ideas  and  teachings. 
Brooklyn  hears,  every  Sunday,  a  score  of  better  sermons  than  I  can 
preach.  I  cannot  get  up  such  sermons  as  Drs.  Storrs  and  Budington 
and  Cuyler  and  Talmage,  and  many  others,  who  preach  here  week 
after  week." 

Mr.  Moody's  abhorrence  of  any  appearance  of  obsequiousness  was 
frequently  in  evidence.  So  pronounced  was  this  aversion  that  at  times 
he  would  take  special  precautions  against  being  introduced  to  a  person 
of  special  note  who  might  have  attended  his  meeting.  Speaking  on 
one  occasion  in  Washington,  a  person  of  particular  distinction  was 
seated  on  the  platform  behind  Mr.  Moody.  After  the  service,  he 
specially  avoided  an  introduction,  explaining  afterward  that  "  there 
were  a  lot  of  people  scraping  and  bowing  around,  and  I'm  not  much 
on  that  line." 

On  one  of  his  earlier  trips  abroad  it  is  related  that  he  received 


Traits  and  Characteristics  507 

a  most  impressive  introduction  to  some  lord  as  he  was  beginning 

a  service  in  a  crowded  hall.     "  Glad  to  meet  you,  Lord ,"  was 

the  brusque  acknowledgment ;  "  won't  you  please  give  those  two  old 
ladies  a  seat  down  there  in  the  middle  aisle?  "  pointing  to  two  women 
who  had  just  entered. 

But  with  all  this  strong  aversion  to  an  approach  of  servility  Mr. 
Moody  was  an  ardent  hero-worshipper.  Seldom  could  he  speak  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  without  tears,  and  he  had  a  great  and  favorite  fund 
of  anecdotes  illustrating  the  nobility  of  his  character.  In  much  the 
same  spirit  he  would  speak  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  U.  S.  Grant,  "  Stone- 
wall "  Jackson,  and  William  E.  Gladstone.  Nor  did  he  limit  his 
admiration  to  those  who  had  passed  beyond  public  criticism,  but 
ardently  expressed  his  regard  for  the  statesmen  then  making  the 
nation's  history.  President  McKinley  he  considered  to  be  the  peer 
of  Lincoln  and  Grant;  and  during  the  dark  days  of  weighty  respon- 
sibility attending  the  Spanish-American  War,  the  chief  executive  had 
no  sympathizer  who  remembered  him  more  earnestly  in  prayer  or 
more  enthusiastically  praised  the  wisdom  which  distinguished  his 
policy. 

It  has  been  noted  that  Moody  frequently  determined  upon  a  course 
that  did  not  appear  wise  to  his  friends.  This  meant  that  their  perspec- 
tive was  confused  by  what  appeared  to  be  insurmountable  obstacles. 
Such  obstructions  never  obscured  Mr.  Moody's  vision,  for  if  once  he 
thought  an  object  worth  attaining,  he  undertook  its  achievement  with 
an  enthusiasm  and  vigor  equalled  only  by  his  determined  persever- 
ance. It  was  this  last  trait  that  contributed  very  largely  to  his  suc- 
cess. Many  of  his  enterprises  would  have  been  abandoned  by  a  less 
courageous  and  persistent  character.  For  him  obstacles  were  only 
an  incentive  to  greater  effort.  "  I  hate  the  word  '  can't,'  "  he  would 
say.  "  When  a  man  says  '  you  can't,'  it  always  makes  me  want  to 
prove  that  I  can." 

The  beauty  of  nature  was  an  unending  source  of  delight  to  him. 
Northfield  is  famous  for  its  natural  scenery,  and  mountain  drives 


508  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

through  the  surrounding  country  reveal  new  beauties  with  every 
changing  season.  It  was  on  these  lovely  excursions  that  Mr.  Moody 
would  confide  to  his  most  intimate  friends  his  deep  secrets  and  most 
cherished  purposes.  The  surroundings  seemed  to  influence  him  power- 
fully, and  often  on  these  drives  he  would  suddenly  break  off  his  con- 
versation, and,  reining  in  his  horse,  pour  out  his  heart  in  praise  to 
God  for  His  mercies,  or  unburden  his  soul  in  a  simple  prayer  for 
guidance  or  relief. 

The  very  spontaneity  of  such  prayers  revealed  the  atmosphere  of  his 
life,  which  was  one  of  constant  communion  with  God.  It  was  not 
surprising,  then,  that  he  should  seldom  have  long  seasons  of  agonizing 
prayer  such  as  some  have  experienced,  for  his  closeness  to  God  was 
not  limited  to  special  seasons,  but  was  a  continuous  and  uninterrupted 
experience. 

Intense  conviction  and  determined  concentration  upon  the  "one 
thing"  he  did  absorbed  him,  and  he  often  gained  a  reputation  for 
brusqueness.  After  a  service  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  deep  earnest- 
ness he  was  not  the  man  to  enter  into  a  conversation  over  trifling 
things  with  one  who  claimed  an  acquaintance  of  a  dozen  years  back. 
Or  if,  on  such  an  occasion,  some  dapper  young  theological  student 
should  hinder  him  in  dealing  with  an  anxious  inquirer  by  accosting 
him  with  an  inquiry  as  to  ''  the  secret  of  his  power,"  it  was  more  than 
probable  that  a  very  apparent  brusqueness  would  appear  in  his 
manner. 

He  had  little  sympathy  with  controversy  of  any  sort,  or  with  habitual 
disturbers  of  Christian  unity,  and  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be 
hindered  by  cranks  of  either  sex.  "  From  long-haired  men  and  short- 
haired  women,  good  Lord,  deliver  us,"  was  a  part  of  his  litany. 

On  one  occasion,  after  a  morning  session  of  the  August  Conference, 
a  man  upbraided  him  for  not  teaching  the  doctrines  of  holiness. 
"  Why,  I  have  not  sinned  for  years,"  claimed  the  stranger.  "  Haven't 
you?"  said  Mr.  Moody;  "well  before  I  accept  your  word  for  it  I 
should  like  the  testimony  of  your  wife."  The  perfectionist  there- 


Traits  and  Characteristics  509 

upon  gave  such  an  exhibition  of  temper  as  to  warrant  the  spectators' 
sympathy  for  his  wife  and  Moody's  scepticism. 

It  was  often  remarked  that  Moody  had  a  wonderful  gift  of  intuition, 
by  which  he  would  readily  make  a  wise  decision.  This  would  at  first 
seem  to  be  so,  but  such  an  impression  was  in  reality  the  result  of 
a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  man.  His  conclusions  were  really  made 
by  a  rapid  deduction.  Experience  had  crystallized  into  a  few  clearly 
defined  laws  and  established  certain  criteria.  This  was  illustrated 
perhaps  as  well  by  his  quick  and  precise  estimate  of  the  capacity  of  a 
hall  or  church  as  by  any  other  means.  Such  an  estimate  is  very  hard 
to  make  offhand,  and  it  is  extraordinary  how  difficult  it  is  to  secure 
reliable  data  on  the  subject,  even  those  best  able  to  judge  being  in- 
clined to  greatly  overestimate  the  figures.  "  The  old  Illinois  Street 
Church  was  just  one  hundred  by  fifty,  and  I  always  measure  everything 
in  my  mind  by  that,"  was  the  explanation  of  his  unerring  accuracy  in 
this  line,  and,  even  when  examining  the  largest  audience-rooms,  he 
always  referred  to  the  church  where  he  first  had  an  experience  in  build- 
ing. On  much  the  same  principle  he  judged  character  at  first  sight, 
and  it  was  an  exceptional  case  where  his  first  impression  was  wrong. 
"  When  you  shake  hands  with  a  man,  look  out  for  him  if  his 
hand  is  as  limp  as  a  dead  fish,"  was  his  frequent  warning.  At  an- 
other time  he  warned  against  those  who  "  tell  all  they  know  at  first 
acquaintance." 

In  public  speaking  his  method  of  judging  his  audience  was  of  the 
same  nature.  "  I  always  select  a  few  people  in  the  audience  here  and 
there,  to  whom  I  speak.  If  I  can  interest  them  and  hold  their  atten- 
tion, I  have  the  entire  audience.  If  any  one  of  these  goes  to  sleep 
or  loses  interest,  I  work  to  secure  the  attention  of  that  one." 

Mr.  Moody  was  rich  in  friends,  whom  he  had  found  in  all  parts  of 
America  and  Great  Britain.  Of  their  confidence  and  regard  for  him 
there  is  no  need  to  speak,  as  the  work  which  they  enabled  him  to 
establish  and  maintain  at  Northfield  and  Chicago  most  clearly  in- 
dicates their  appreciation  of  his  aims  and  judgment.  For  twenty  years 


5IO  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

he  raised  an  average  of  over  $100,000  annually  for  the  support  of  his 
several  enterprises.  In  addition,  over  $1,000,000  was  invested  in  the 
permanent  equipment  of  the  schools,  and  many  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands were  secured  by  him  during  his  public  life  for  incidental  under- 
takings in  behalf  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  and  other 
organizations. 

Any  real  friendship  he  counted  a  special  blessing,  not  to  be  held 
lightly.  It  has  been  said,  however,  that  few  of  his  friends  enjoyed 
any  very  great  degree  of  intimacy.  This  is  partially  true,  and  few 
men  ever  entered  into  that  close  inner  circle  of  fellowship  in  which  he 
would  lay  bare  the  inmost  secrets  of  his  soul.  There  were  a  few  of 
those,  however,  whose  friendship  he  knew  to  be  true,  and  among  these 
was  Henry  Drummond,  for  whom  Moody  had  a  love,  as  he  himself 
expressed  it,  like  that  which  David  felt  for  Jonathan.  The  mutual 
regard  of  these  two  men,  so  different  both  in  nature  and  in  training, 
was  most  significant  of  the  breadth  of  charity  in  both.  Moody,  who 
loved  Drummond  as  a  brother,  and  appreciated  his  deep  spirituality, 
would  say  of  him,  "  He  was  the  most  Christlike  man  I  ever  knew." 
Drummond,  who  knew  and  thoroughly  appreciated  Mr.  Moody  as 
few  have  done,  testified  to  his  friend's  character  in  equally  vivid 
terms.  In  the  course  of  a  short  biographical  sketch  of  Moody,  in 
"  McClure's  Magazine,"  he  gave  the  following  appreciation : 

"  Simple  as  this  man  is,  and  homely  as  are  his  surroundings,  prob- 
ably America  possesses  at  this  moment  no  more  extraordinary  per- 
sonage; not  even  among  the  most  brilliant  of  her  sons  has  any  one 
rendered  more  stupendous  or  more  enduring  service  to  his  country 
or  his  time.  No  public  man  is  less  understood,  especially  by  the  think- 
ing world,  than  D.  L.  Moody.  It  is  not  that  it  is  unaware  of  his 
existence,  or  even  that  it  does  not  respect  him.  But  his  line  is  so 
special,  his  work  has  lain  so  apart  from  what  it  conceives  to  be  the 
rational  channels  of  progress,  that  it  has  never  felt  called  upon  to  take 
him  seriously.  So  little,  indeed,  is  the  true  stature  of  this  man  known 
to  the  mass  of  his  generation,  that  the  preliminary  estimate  recorded 


Traits  and  Characteristics  511 

here  must  seem  both  extravagant  and  ill-considered.  It  will  surprise 
many  to  know  that  Mr.  Moody  is  as  different  from  the  supposed  type 
of  his  class  as  light  is  from  darkness ;  that  while  he  would  be  the  last 
to  repudiate  the  name;  indeed,  while  glorying  more  and  more  each 
day  he  lives  in  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  he  sees  the  weaknesses,  the 
narrownesses,  and  the  limitations  of  that  order  with  as  clear  an  eye  as 
the  most  unsparing  of  its  critics.  But  especially  will  it  surprise  many 
to  know  that,  while  preaching  to  the  masses  has  been  the  main  out- 
ward work  of  Mr.  Moody's  life,  he  has,  perhaps,  more  and  more  varied 
irons  in  the  fire — educational,  philanthropic,  religious — than  almost  any 
living  man ;  and  that  vast  as  has  been  his  public  work  as  a  preacher 
to  the  masses,  it  is  probably  true  that  his  personal  influence  and 
private  character  have  done  as  much  as  his  preaching  to  affect  his  day 
and  generation.  Whether  estimated  by  the  moral  qualities  which  go  to 
the  making  up  of  his  personal  character  or  the  extent  to  which  he 
has  impressed  these  on  whole  communities  of  men  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  more  truly  great  man  living  than 
D.  L.  Moody.  I  have  met  multitudes  and  personally  know,  in  large 
numbers,  men  and  women  of  all  churches  and  creeds,  of  many  coun- 
tries and  ranks,  from  the  poorest  to  the  richest,  and  from  the  most 
ignorant  to  the  wisest,  upon  whom  he  has  placed  an  ineffaceable  moral 
mark.  There  is  no  large  town  in  Great  Britain,  and  I  find  that  there 
are  few  in  America,  where  this  man  has  not  gone,  where 'he  has  not 
lived,  for  days,  weeks,  or  months,  and  where  he  has  not  left  behind 
him  personal  inspirations  which  live  to  this  day;  inspirations  that 
from  the  moment  of  their  birth  have  not  ceased  to  evidence  them- 
selves in  furthering  domestic  happiness  and  peace;  in  charities  and 
philanthropies;  in  social,  religious,  and  even  municipal  and  national 
service." 

From  those  who  had  opportunity  of  knowing  him  best  through 
close  and  constant  companionship,  come  the  most  unreserved  and 
spontaneous  testimony  to  Mr.  Moody's  simple,  open,  and  unselfish 
character.  Mr.  Sankey's  experience  would  be  largely  the  record  of 


5 12  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

this  entire  work,  but  in  the  following  he  has  epitomized  his  impres- 
sions : 

"  One  of  the  greatest  compliments  to  his  preaching  was  that  the 
sermon  that  would  hold  the  rapt  attention  of  the  most  intelligent  of 
his  congregation  would  also  be  listened  to  with  the  same  eagerness 
by  the  children  present.  Any  one — every  one — understood  what  he 
said.  His  meaning  was  clear  to  every  child.  It  was  also  convincing 
to  the  old.  No  other  preacher  ever  mastered  this  art — if  anything 
connected  with  Mr.  Moody  may  be  called  an  art — of  reaching  the 
understanding  of  old  and  young  at  the  same  time.  His  simplicity  of 
language  was  remarkable.  The  strong  individuality  of  the  man 
spoke  out  in  every  sentence.  The  beauty  of  his  powerful  nature 
shone  in  his  works. 

"  One  of  the  reasons  of  his  phenomenal  success  in  bringing  souls  to 
God  was  that  he  believed  absolutely,  implicitly  in  the  message  he  gave 
to  men.  His  faith  was  the  faith  of  a  little  child.  No  doubts  ever 
dimmed  his  faith  in  the  \Yord  of  God.  To  him  it  was  the  truth,  and 
the  whole  truth. 

"  He  never  sat  down  and  folded  his  hands  and  waited  for  the  Lord 
to  bring  about  what  he  wanted.  He  did  not  believe  in  passive  Chris- 
tianity. 

"  Mr.  Moody  never  tried  to  exalt  himself — never  thought  of  him- 
self. He  made  no  attempt  at  fine  speeches  or  rhetorical  phrasing. 
He  once  said : 

' '  Christ  talked  in  parables.  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  talk  in  para- 
bles !  I  would  if  I  knew  enough ! '  His  simple,  direct  manner  of 
work  has  often  been  described.  His  tremendous  earnestness,  his 
indomitable  energy,  his  lovable  personality,  and,  above  all  and 
through  all,  his  thorough  goodness,  won  him  the  hearts  of  millions. 
No  one  could  meet  him  without  admiring  him.  No  one  could  know 
him  without  loving  him.  The  rich,  the  learned,  the  poor,  the  happy, 
and  the  miserable — convicts  shut  in  by  iron  bars  and  the  great  ones 
of  earth — alike  found  that  he  had  a  message  for  each. 


Traits  and  Characteristics  513 

"  Now  the  world  grieves  that  one  of  the  noblest  souls  of  earth  has 
passed  beyond  our  ken.  Our  comfort  lies  in  the  fact  that  one  day — 
'  when  the  mists  have  rolled  away  ' — we  will  meet  him  again." 

One  of  Mr.  Moody's  most  efficient  helpers  in  later  years  was  Prof. 
D.  B.  Towner,  who  was  associated  with  him  for  the  last  fourteen  years 
of  his  life,  beginning  with  the  Cincinnati  meetings  in  the  fall  of  1885. 
After  that  time,  Professor  Towner  had  charge  of  the  music  at  all 
the  college  conferences ;  he  also  attended  several  of  the  August  Con- 
ferences, assisting  Sankey  and  Stebbins  in  the  singing.  Since  1893 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  Bible  Institute.  In  speaking  of  Mr. 
Moody  he  said : 

"  During  all  these  years  there  has  never  been  the  slightest  mis- 
understanding between  us,  and  I  have  never  met  a  man  who  came  so 
nearly  to  Christ's  standard  as  he.  He  was  absolutely  unselfish,  always 
sharing  everything  with  his  helpers  and  looking  after  their  comfort 
with  the  care  and  tenderness  of  a  father.  Never  in  the  fourteen  years 
that  I  have  been  associated  with  him  has  he  said  an  unkind  word  or 
given  me  an  unkind  look.  My  own  father  could  not  have  been  more 
kind  or  solicitous  for  my  comfort  and  welfare.  My  love  for  him  was 
stronger  than  for  any  man  in  the  world,  and  his  influence  on  my 
life  for  good  has  been  greater  than  that  of  any  ten  men  that  I  have 
ever  known.  I  never  knew  such  a  friend,  and  shall  never  cease  to 
thank  God  that  I  was  privileged  to  know  him  and  labor  with  him. 

"  After  his  meetings  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  in  the  spring  of  1899,  when  I 
accompanied  him  as  his  singer,  we  took  the  train  for  Santa  Cruz. 
We  were  hardly  seated  when  in  came  a  party  of  young  men,  one  of 
whom  was  considerably  under  the  influence  of  liquor  and  very  badly 
bruised,  with  one  eye  completely  closed  and  terribly  discolored.  He 
at  once  recognized  Mr.  Moody,  and  began  to  sing  hymns  and  talk 
very  loudly  for  his  benefit.  Mr.  Moody  caught  up  his  bag  and 
said,  '  Towner,  let  us  get  out  of  this.'  When  I  reminded  him  that 
the  other  car  was  full,  he  settled  down,  protesting  that  the  company 
should  not  allow  a  drunken  man  to  insult  the  whole  car  in  such  a 


5I4  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

manner.  Presently  the  conductor  came,  and  Mr.  Moody  called  his 
attention  to  the  poor  fellow  in  the  rear  of  the  car.  The  conductor 
attended  to  his  duty,  and  when  he  reached  the  young  man  he  said 
a  few  words  to  him  in  a  low  voice,  and  the  fellow  followed  him  into 
the  baggage  car,  where  he  bathed  his  eye  and  bound  it  up  with  his 
handkerchief,  after  which  the  young  man  soon  fell  asleep. 

"  Mr.  Moody  sat  musing  for  a  time,  and  then  said,  '  Towner,  that  is 
an  awful  rebuke  to  me.  I  preached  against  Pharisaism  last  night  to 
a  crowd,  and  exhorted  them  to  imitate  the  Good  Samaritan,  and  now 
this  morning  God  has  given  me  an  opportunity  to  practise  what  I 
preached,  and  I  find  I  have  both  feet  in  the  shoes  of  the  priest  and 
Levite.'  He  was  reticent  all  the  way  to  Santa  Cruz,  but  he  told  the 
incident  that  night  to  the  audience,  confessing  his  humiliation. 

"  During  the  Columbian  campaign  in  Chicago  Mr.  Moody  used  to 
preach  in  the  Haymarket  Theatre  on  the  West  Side.  One  night  the 
crowd  came  early,  and  he  closed  the  meeting  before  the  cab  came  to 
take  him  to  his  rooms  in  the  Bible  Institute.  Starting  down  Madison 
Street  on  foot,  knowing  he  would  meet  the  cab,  he  had  not  gone  far 
when  he  was  accosted  by  a  rough-looking  fellow,  who  asked  for 
money.  Mr.  Moody  told  him  that  he  did  not  have  a  cent  with  him. 
The  stranger  seemed  rather  cross,  began  to  complain  about  the  way 
he  was  treated,  and  said  he  was  starving  and  must  have  some  money. 
Mr.  Moody  did  not  care  to  proceed  any  farther  for  fear  he  might 
follow  and  give  him  trouble,  so  he  entered  into  conversation  with  him, 
and  presently  the  cab  drove  up. 

' '  Lend  me  a  dollar?  '  said  Moody  to  the  driver. 

' '  Certainly,  Mr.  Moody,'  was  the  reply. 

"  At  this  remark  the  tramp  said,  '  Is  this  Moody,  the  evangelist  ?  ' 

"  Mr.  Moody  said  it  was,  and  that  he  had  just  been  preaching  at  the 
Haymarket,  at  the  same  time  handing  him  a  dollar  that  the  driver  had 
put  into  his  hands.  But  the  poor  fellow  drew  back,  saying: 

No,  no ;  my  father  is  a  poor  Methodist  preacher,  and  I  will 
starve  before  I  will  take  a  penny  from  you,  Mr.  Moody.' 


Traits  and  Characteristics  515 

"On  another  occasion  he  came  upon  a  crowd  of  rough  fellows.  He 
did  not  want  to  seem  to  shun  them,  and  yet  he  did  not  care  to  go 
through  the  crowd,  so,  stepping  boldly  up  to  a  big,  burly  fellow  who 
seemed  to  be  the  leader,  he  said: 

"  '  Won't  you  please  hold  my  coat  for  me?  '  and  to  another, '  Would 
you  just  hold  my  Bible?  '  After  the  coat  was  on  he  said,  '  Thank  you,, 
gentlemen;  when  you  get  old  and  stiff  I  hope  some  one  will  be  as  kind 
to  you.'  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  could  pass  through  safely  then." 

But  while  Mr.  Moody  was  a  devoted  friend  he  was  not  the  man 
to  condone  a  fault  in  any  one  he  loved.  On  occasion  he  has  severed 
relations  with  one  whom  he  believed  to  be  wrong,  though  this  often 
cost  him  such  suffering  as  only  a  true  and  loyal  heart  can  feel.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  would  make  any  personal  sacrifice  to  help  a  friend,  and 
occasions  have  not  been  wanting  where  he  has  stood  by  a  friend  in 
difficulty  at  the  expense  of  great  personal  loss,  necessitating  more  than 
temporary  inconvenience. 

The  home,  above  all  other  places,  is  where  a  man  most  truly  reveals 
himself,  and  here  Mr.  Moody  was  at  his  best.  Home  was  the  sweetest 
place  upon  earth  to  him,  and  had  he  chosen  only  his  own  comfort  and 
pleasure,  he  would  have  devoted  his  last  years  to  work  at  Northfield, 
in  connection  with  his  schools,  without  heeding  the  calls  to  service 
in  the  outer  world.  Entering  into  all  the  plans  and  interested  in  every- 
thing which  demanded  the  attention  of  the  members  of  his  family,  he 
made  their  life  his  own.  A  child's  pleasures  afforded  him  keen  enjoy- 
ment, the  student's  school  or  college  experience  enlisted  his  hearty 
sympathy,  and  his  advice  in  business  affairs  or  even  domestic  problems 
was  most  highly  valued.  Nothing  was  too  trifling  for  his  notice, 
and  in  the  home  and  community  he  became  the  great  burden-bearer. 

Of  later  years  it  was  his  custom  to  spend  the  months  from  October 
to  April  (inclusive)  in  evangelistic  work,  returning-to  Northfield  about 
the  first  of  May.  There  was  no  place  he  ic-ed  more  than  this,  and 
he  always  regretted  to  have  to  leave  it  even  for  short  absences  during 
the  summer  months. 


5I6  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

His  correspondence  was  always  large,  and  he  made  it  a  point 
to  open  every  letter  himself.  Inquiries  connected  with  the  different 
schools  were  separated  and  given  to  subordinates,  and  general  letters 
were  usually  handed  to  his  secretary.  In  special  cases  he  would  in- 
dicate by  brief  notes  what  reply  should  be  made.  Letters  received 
prompt  attention;  even  those  from  disagreeable  people  were  usually 
courteously  acknowledged. 

"  In  nothing,  perhaps,  is  Mr.  Moody's  generalship  more  manifest 
than  in  his  capacity  for  detail,"  wrote  a  friend.  "  Nothing  is  too  minute 
for  his  best  thought,  for  he  knows  how  much  results  depend  on  little 
things.  Along  with  this  genius  for  details  goes  remarkable  quickness 
of  insight  and  decision." 

"  The  old  proverb,  '  A  prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his 
own  country,'  cannot  be  said  of  D.  L.  Moody,  for  surely  no  person 
could  be  more  sincerely  loved  and  honored  by  his  townsmen  than  was 
he,"  wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  county  paper  in  describing  him  as 
a  citizen  and  neighbor.  "  Expressions  of  sorrow  are  heard  from  all 
classes  of  people  in  the  town,  and  could  each  tribute  be  represented 
by  a  blossom  on  his  grave,  it  would  be  piled  high  with  flowers.  His 
townsmen  have  been  proud  of  him  as  a  citizen,  as  a  man,  and  as  a 
religious  worker.  Although  not  all  of  them  have  indorsed  his  religious 
belief,  they  have  thoroughly  believed  in  his  honesty  of  purpose  and 
sincerity,  and  are  convinced  that  the  results  of  his  life-work  will  be 
lasting  and  of  inestimable  value  to  future  generations.  They  know  that 
Northfield  has  been  changed  from  a  quiet  farming  town,  with  cor- 
responding disadvantages,  to  a  thrifty  village  with  a  steady  growth ; 
and  that  there  and  at  Mount  Hermon  have  been  established  two  of 
the  best  fitting-schools  in  the  State,  all  through  the  energy  and  per- 
severance of  this  man.  Every  effort  has  been  made  by  him  to  bring 
these  schools  within  the  reach  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  town,  and 
many  an  ambitious  father  and  mother  have  been  able  to  educate  their 
children  through  his  efforts. 

"  Last  summer  he  was  told  of  a  woman  who  was  supporting  her 


Traits  and  Characteristics  517 

family  by  taking  in  washing.  Her  daughter  was  ready  for  the  Sem- 
inary, but  she  almost  despaired  of  her  ability  to  send  her.  Mr.  Moody 
instantly  replied: 

"  '  Tell  the  principal  to  put  her  on  the  free  list,  and  find  her  a  room 
in  the  buildings.  The  town  girls  must  be  helped  first.' 

"  This  is  only  one  instance  of  many.  Under  certain  provisions,  a 
few  years  ago,  he  offered  every  Northfield  and  Gill  boy  free  tuition 
for  the  first  year  at  Mount  Hermon,  and  several  boys  have  availed 
themselves  of  this  opportunity  each  year  since. 

"  He  was  instantly  alert  and  ready  with  money  and  work  to  forward 
any  plans  to  benefit  the  town.  At  the  time  the  Village  Improvement 
Society  was  formed  he  subscribed  $100  to  improve  the  street,  know- 
ing that  it  would  be  expended  in  a  part  of  the  village  remote  from 
the  school  and  his  residence.  Every  year  since  its  formation  he  has 
given  generously  of  money,  and  has  also  offered  valuable  advice  and 
wise  suggestions. 

"  He  was  very  proud  of  the  magnificent  trees  of  the  village,  'and 
nothing  irritated  him  more  than  any  attempt  to  injure  them.  He  had 
a  large  number  of  trees  and  shrubs  set  about  his  place  and  on  the  Sem- 
inary grounds.  It  must  have  been  very  gratifying  to  him  to  see 
Seminary  Hill  in  all  its  June  splendor,  knowing  that  in  his  childhood 
it  was  considered  one  of  the  most  barren  places  in  town.  One  old  man 
once  said  that  that  side-hill  wouldn't  bear  white  beans  when  he  was 
a  boy. 

"  He  was  a  kind  neighbor,  sickness  and  trouble  finding  him  ready 
with  sympathy  and  material  help.  The  delicacies  of  his  garden  and 
fruit  orchard  found  their  way  into  many  a  humble  home.  He  encour- 
aged his  wife  and  daughter  to  interest  themselves  in  helping  the  sick 
and  needy  in  all  parts  of  the  town. 

"  During  the  autumn,  when  fruit  was  abundant,  the  Seminary  girls 
were  given  free  access  to  his  orchard  and  grapery,  to  eat  and  carry 
baskets  full  to  their  rooms.  Each  fall  all  the  surplus  apples  from  his 
,own  orchard  and  from  the  Seminary  campus,  and  all  he  could  solicit 


5Ig  •  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

from  neighboring  farmers,  to  the  extent  of  hundreds  of  bushels,  were 
distributed  among  the  poor  in  Boston  and  New  York. 

"  He  had  a  strong  aversion  to  committees.  A  few  months  ago  an 
organization  was  being  effected  in  the  Town  Hall,  and  a  motion  was 
made  to  appoint  certain  committees.  Mr.  Moody  rose  and  said,  '  We 
don't  want  committees.  When  you  want  anything  done,  tell  Mr. 
So-and-so  to  do  it,  and  you  will  accomplish  something.  One  is  enough 
to  constitute  any  committee.  If  there  had  been  a  committee  appointed, 
Noah's  ark  would  never  have  been  built.'  " 

Mr.  Moody  was  accused  of  lowering  the  pulpit  by  some  people  in 
Boston  because  he  declared  that  the  churches  should  seek  those  who 
did  not  seek  the  churches.  His  reply  was :  "  If  lowering  the  pulpit 
means  bringing  it  to  the  people,  I  would  to  God  I  could.  If  I  wranted 
to  hit  Boston,  you  don't  think  I  would  mount  my  guns  on  Bunker 
Hill  Monument  and  fire  into  the  air,  do  you?  " 

On  Sunday  evening,  April  21,  1895,  Mr.  Moody  was  holding  a 
meeting  in  a  specially  constructed  building  in  the  city  of  Fort  Worth, 
Tex.  The  roof  was  flat,  and,  as  it  turned  out,  insufficiently  supported. 
During  one  of  the  meetings,  when  the  audience  present  numbered 
about  four  thousand,  a  heavy  rain  fell,  and  the  water  collected  on  the 
flat  roof.  In  the  very  midst  of  Mr.  Moody's  sermon  a  loud  crash  was 
heard,  and  a  large  section  of  the  roof  over  the  middle  of  the  vast 
auditorium  fell  in. 

"  I  was  sitting  a  little  distance  from  the  front,  in  company  with  a 
distinguished  general  of  the  Confederacy,"  says  Dr.  C.  I.  Scofield, 
at  that  time  a  pastor  in  Dallas,  Tex.  "  I  was  struck,  as  all  present 
were,  with  the  perfect  presence  of  mind  of  Mr.  Moody,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  held  control  of  the  audience,  preventing  a  stampede, 
which  would  inevitably  have  resuked  in  great  injury  to  limb  and  pos- 
sible loss  of  life.  When  quiet  was  restored,  and  the  people  had 
gotten  safely  out  of  the  building,  this  general  turned  to  me  and  said : 
Dr.  Scofield,  I  have  seen  many  brave  men  in  my  life  put  into 
positions  of  great  personal  danger,  and  I  believe  I  know  a  brave 


Traits  and  Characteristics  519 

man  when  I  see  him  tested.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  never 
seen  a  braver  man  than  D.  L.  Moody.'  " 

Mr.  Moody  was  quick  to  take  in  a  situation,  and  prompt  in  giving 
an  answer  to  what  would  require  a  good  deal  of  thought  and  con- 
sideration on  the  part  of  many.  Referring  to  an  incident  where  this 
characteristic  was  marked,  a  friend  says : 

"  I  was  very  anxious  to  learn  Mr.  Moody's  opinion  of  a  certain 
minister,  Dr.  X.,  who  had  been  spoken  of  as  a  desirable  man  for  a 
pulpit  then  vacant.  I  ventured  to  say : 

"  '  Mr.  Moody,  confidentially,  what  is  your  opinion  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  X.  for  such  a  pulpit  ?  ' 

"  Mr.  Moody  rose  from  his  seat,  went  to  the  window,  and  looked 
out  for  several  minutes,  without  saying  a  word.  I  feared  that  I  had 
offended  him.  He  then  turned  and  said,  '  There  is  too  much  toma- 
hawk about  him.'  We  resumed  our  pleasant  conversation  about 
other  matters,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  that  clergyman  proved  the 
correctness  of  Mr.  Moody's  judgment." 

Quite  as  interesting  was  the  answer  which  a  clergyman  received  who 
had  gone  to  Northfield  to  interview  Mr.  Moody  concerning  a  man 
whom  he  wished  to  procure  for  Christian  work.  When  asked  for  the 
interview,  the  subject  having  been  mentioned,  Mr.  Moody,  without 
naming  a  time  or  making  further  explanation,  said : 

"  Get  his  boots,  if  you  can ;  they  are  better  than  most  men's  whole 
bodies." 

Mr.  Moody  had  little  regard  for  red  tape,  and  could  not  always  be 
held  to  the  requirements  of  parliamentary  procedure.  One  after- 
noon, while  the  trustees  of  the  Seminary  were  considering  ways  and 
means,  a  member  of  the  board  was  obliged  to  withdraw  before  the 
end  of  the  meeting.  He  was  about  to  enter  his  carriage,  when  Mr. 
Moody  raised  a  window  and  said : 

"  Will  you  give  a  thousand  dollars  if  I  will  do  the  same?  " 

"  All  right,"  came  the  answer.  Mr.  Moody,  as  he  closed  the  win- 
dow, remarked  that  he  did  not  have  a  thousand  dollars  himself,  but 


520  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

he  would  raise  it  some  way  or  other.  In  response,  one  of  the  trustees 
smilingly  remarked  that  that  was  a  somewhat  irregular  proceeding,  but 
Mr.  Moody  answered : 

"  Oh,  well,  we  do  everything  up  here  differently  from  other  people." 

Once,  while  driving  in  the  woods,  he  found  a  plank  broken  in  the 
flooring  of  a  small  bridge.  Returning,  he  called  to  one  of  the  farm 
hands  working  on  the  hotel  grounds,  and  said : 

"  A  plank  is  broken  in  the  bridge,"  describing  the  location;  "  take 
a  new  one  and  go  over  and  put  it  in."  The  man  hesitated,  then  said : 

"  That  bridge  does  not  belong  in  our  district !  " 

"  I  know,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  "  and  my  horse  doesn't  belong  in  that 
district,  either,  but  it  might  have  broken  its  leg  just  the  same." 

Mr.  Moody  was  as  careful  of  details  as  he  was  of  great  plans.  While 
preaching  he  would  stop  in  the  middle  of  his  discourse,  if  necessary, 
and  say : 

"  Will  the  ushers  please  open  the  windows,  and  let  in  a  little  fresh 
air?  It  is  getting  close  in  here."  At  another  time  he  would  rouse 
the  audience  by  saying : 

"  You  are  getting  sleepy  while  I  am  talking  to  you  about  Assur- 
ance. I  don't  want  you  to  think  I  am  a  dull  preacher;  you  need  some 
fresh  air."  Then,  after  a  few  minutes'  interval : 

"  Shut  the  windows.    I  see  they  are  putting  on  their  wraps." 

Mr.  Moody  was  averse  to  having  his  photograph  taken,  and  only 
twice  did  he  sit  for  a  picture  alone  after  he  began  his  evangelistic 
work.  When  his  grandchildren  were  born,  however,  he  was  induced 
to  reconsider  his  objections,  and  some  of  the  best  pictures  are  those 
in  which  he  figures  with  one  or  another  of  the  little  ones. 

Bishop  Huntington,  of  the  diocese  of  Central  New  York,  came  to 
Northfield  in  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Moody's  evangelistic  ministry,  as 
he  said,  "  to  seek  an  interview." 

"  When  I  reached  there  I  found  him  pitching  off  a  load  of  oats  in 
the  barn.  In  a  serious  and  candid  talk,  under  a  tree  in  the  yard,  he 
said  some  words  which  I  have  recalled  and  repeated  many  times. 


ASHUEI.OT  RIVER  AND  ROAD. 

One  of  the  many  charming  scenes  in  the  vicinity  of  Mr.  Moody's  house. 


EAST  HALL,  NORTHFIF.LD  SEMINARY. 


QUIET  SPOT— WANAMAKER  LAKE— SEMINARY  GROUNDS. 


Traits  and  Characteristics  523 

They  were  these :  '  I  know  perfectly  well  that,  wherever  I  go  and 
preach,  there  are  many  better  preachers  known  and  heard  than  I  am ; 
all  that  I  can  say  about  it  is  that  the  Lord  uses  me.'  That,  I  take  it, 
was  the  faith  of  the  spirit  of  his  whole  extraordinary  career,  and  the 
sacred  secret  of  his  power.  He  was  strong  because  he  was  simple. 
He  prevailed  and  succeeded  because  he  was  genuine ;  because  he  was 
a  willing  instrument  of  the  will  of  God." 

One  morning  he  arose  somewhat  earlier  than  was  his  custom,  in 
order  to  study  and  prepare  his  address  for  the  morning  session  of  the 
students'  conference.  He  went  to  the  window  and  looked  out  to  see 
if  the  indications  were  for  a  pleasant  day.  As  he  did  so,  he  saw  a 
student  carrying  a  heavy  valise.  It  was  evident  that  the  young  man 
was  on  his  way  to  the  station  to  catch  the  early  morning  train. 

"  I  had  started  to  read  my  Bible,"  said  Mr.  Moody,  in  speaking  of 
the  matter  afterward,  "  but  somehow  I  couldn't  fasten  my  attention 
to  the  Book.  I  could  see  before  me  as  I  read  that  young  man  trudging 
along  with  that  heavy  valise.  Perhaps  he  had  given  the  quarter  that 
it  would  cost  him  to  ride  to  the  station  in  the  collection  taken  up  at 
my  request  the  day  previous.  Yes ;  and  he  had  nearly  two  miles  to 
walk.  Surely  that  box  must  be  heavy!  I  couldn't  stand  it  any 
longer.  I  went  to  the  barn  and  hurriedly  had  my  horse  hitched  up, 
overtook  the  young  man,  and  carried  him  and  his  baggage  to  the 
station.  When  I  returned  to  the  house  I  had  no  further  difficulty  in 
fixing  my  attention  on  the  subject  I  was  studying." 

He  had  the  largest  confidence  in  the  medical  profession,  for,  to  use 
his  own  words : 

"  Never  yet,  in  all  my  years  of  work,  have  I  called  on  an  able 
doctor,  telling  him  of  the  sickness  and  need  of  some  poor  and  friend- 
less person,  that  he  did  not  at  once  go  to  the  rescue  without  money 
and  without  price.  These  are  the  men  who  are  called  devils  by  the 
faith  healers.  God  heals  through  doctors  and  medicine.  Do  you 
ask  what  I  would  do  if  I  were  ill?  Get  the  best  doctor  in  town,  trust 
in  him,  and  trust  in  the  Lord  to  work  through  him." 
29 


524  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

When  special  services  were  being  held  in  the  Congregational 
church,  he  told  the  people  they  were  not  making  effort  enough  to  get 
their  neighbors  to  come  to  church. 

"  Why  don't  you  bring  somebody  in  your  big  wagon?  "  he  said,  ad- 
dressing one  well-to-do  farmer  by  name. 

"  Because  my  wagon  is  always  filled  from  my  own  house,"  was  the 
reply. 

Mr.  Moody  at  once  said  he  must  have  a  wagon,  one  way  or  an- 
other, adding  that  he  wanted  to  invest  $25  in  one  himself,  and  called 
for  contributions.  People  in  the  audience  added  $100  more,  and 
later  $80  additional  was  subscribed.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
church  wagons  which,  in  the  summer  season,  are  seen  driving  from 
the  hotel  and  through  the  streets,  carrying  people  to  and  from  the 
services  free  of  charge. 

One  of  the  most  trying  positions  into  which  Mr.  Moody  was  fre- 
quently brought  was  that  of  a  father  confessor.  It  was  quite  impossible 
— even  if  it  were  desirable — to  prevent  persons  with  great  burdens  on 
conscience  and  heart  making  known  their  peculiar  condition.  One 
case  of  special  interest  occurred  during  the  mission  in  St.  Louis.  A 
very  gentlemanly  man  called  and  confessed  that  he  was  a  transgressor 
of  the  civil  law.  His  crime  was  ever  before  him.  If  he  confessed  before 
the  authorities,  a  commitment  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  long  term 
would  undoubtedly  be  the  result.  "  Mr.  Moody,"  the  man  said,  with 
deep  emotion,  "  I  want  your  advice.  I  am  willing  to  suffer  for  my 
sin — but  I  have  a  beautiful  home,  a  devoted  wife,  several  lovely  chil- 
dren. A  public  confession  means  to  these  disgrace  and  poverty.  What 
is  my  duty  before  God?  I  have  been  forgiven  by  Him ;  I  only  desire  to 
know  what  is  the  right  course  to  pursue,  and  I  believe  I  am  willing  to 
take  it,  regardless  of  the  consequences." 

Mr.  Moody's  heart  was  touched.  He  felt  obliged  to  reply,  "  My 
friend,  I  cannot  undertake  to  advise  you.  You  must  go  to  God  and 
ask  Him."  The  next  day  the  man  again  called  and  said,  "  Mr. 
Moody,  I  do  not  think  I  need  your  advice  now,  I  have  fully  deter- 


Traits  and  Characteristics  525 

mined  what  is  right.  I  purpose  giving  myself  up."  He  spent  one 
week  more  with  his  wife  and  children,  then  placed  himself  in  the  hands 
of  the  law,  and  was  sentenced  for  a  long  term.  The  wife  was  obliged 
to  support  herself  and  children,  and  this  she  did  for  some  time.  Mr. 
Moody  endeavored,  without  success,  to  obtain  a  pardon  for  the  peni- 
tent. A  few  years  later  he  renewed  his  efforts;  he  was  very  hopeful, 
and  made  a  special  trip  to  the  State  capital  to  interview  the  governor. 
Mr.  Moody  was  very  cordially  received,  but  when  the  object  of  his 
call  was  stated,  the  request  was  positively  denied,  and  Mr.  Moody  re- 
turned home,  greatly  saddened.  Later,  under  another  administra- 
tion, a  pardon  was  obtained,  and  the  family  are  now  happily  reunited. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  says  that  one  element  of  Mr. 
Moody's  power  was  his  fearless  independence  in  speech  and  manner. 
He  dared  to  be  himself,  and  he  would  never  risk  trying  to  be  anybody 
else.  When  holding  meetings  in  Baltimore  in  1878,  he  telegraphed  Dr. 
Trumbull,  asking  if  he  would  come  down  and  aid  in  the  work.  The 
following  incident,  connected  with  that  visit,  is  related  by  Dr.  Trum- 
bull: 

"  I  went  down,  joined  him  in  his  meeting,  and  then  passed  the 
night  in  his  temporary  home.  In  the  morning  he  asked  me  to  conduct 
worship  in  his  family  group.  I  said  I  would  read  the  passage  for 
next  Sunday's  lesson,  '  Zaccheus  the  Publican.'  Noticing  my  pro- 
nunciation of  the  proper  name,  he  said,  '  Is  that  the  way  to  call  it? ' 
'  Yes/  I  said,  '  the  proper  pronunciation  is  "  Zach-che'us,"  but  we 
Yankees  most  always  start  the  emphasis  a  little  too  soon — "  Zach'- 
che-us!"' 

"  '  Zach-^'us,'  '  Zach-cAAts,'  said  Moody,  trying  the  word  to 
his  ear ;  and  then  added,  '  I  guess  I'd  better  stick  to  the  old  way.'  He 
measured  himself  aright,  as  he  did  many  others. 

"  Moody  knew  his  power,  and  knew  his  lack,  and  he  had  due  regard 
for  both.  He  never  attempted  what  was  outside  of  his  limitations,  but 
he  was  fearless  in  the  use  of  what  he  had. 

"  Moody  was  no  Oriental  scholar,  nor  did  he  assume  to  give  a 


526  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

Bible  picture  in  its  Eastern  setting.  But  he  did  give  the  idea  of  the 
Bible  scene  as  he  had  it  in  his  mind,  and  as  he  wanted  his  hearers  to 
have  it  in  theirs.  I  once  heard  him,  in  telling  the  story  of  Daniel, 
picture  Daniel  as  taking  out  his  watch  to  note  the  time  as  noon 
approached,  when  he  would  pray  as  usual,  lions  or  no  lions.  In  his 
earnest,  graphic,  vivid  way  he  made  that  scene  so  real  that  no  one 
thought  of  any  anachronism  on  his  part. 

"  So,  again,  as  he  told  the  story  of  Noah's  warnings  before  the 
Flood,  he  pictured  the  scoffers  of  that  day  while  the  Deluge  was 
delayed. 

"  '  They'd  say  to  one  another,  "  Not  much  sign  of  old  Noah's  rain- 
storm yet."  They'd  talk  it  over  in  the  corner  groceries  evenings.' 

"  Then,  as  if  in  explanation,  he  added : 

"  '  I  tell  you,  my  friends,  before  the  world  got  as  bad  as  it  was  in 
Noah's  day,  they  must  have  had  corner  groceries.' 

"  Everybody  could  understand  that  kind  of  talk. 

"  Yet,  Moody  was  a  hard  student,  and  he  gained  and  grew  steadily 
in  intellect  and  knowledge  as  years  went  on.  He  told  me  of  the  sur- 
prise expressed  by  one  man  who  found  him  in  his  study  with  his  books 
open  before  him. 

"  '  You  don't  mean,  Moody,  that  you  use  commentaries,  do  you?  ' 

"  '  Of  course  I  do.' 

' '  Then  I  shan't  enjoy  your  sermons  as  I  have,  now  that  I  know 
that.' 

' '  Have  you  ever  liked  my  sermons?  ' 

"  '  Of  course  I  have.' 
1 '  Then  you've  liked  Moody 's  commentaries,  have  you?  '  " 

The  Rev.  S.  A.  Taggart,  State  secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  of  Pennsylvania,  accompanied  Mr.  Moody  during  a 
number  of  meetings  in  that  State,  and  relates  several  characteristic 
incidents.  He  says : 

"  Mr.  Moody  had  a  fine  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things.  In  one  of 
the  cities  where  meetings  were  being  held  a  prominent  representative 


Traits  and  Characteristics  527 

of  Christian  work  called  upon  him.  He  was  a  very  dignified  man,  with 
a  seeming  air  of  wisdom,  and  carried  a  fine  gold-headed  cane.  I  saw 
Mr.  Moody  looking  at  the  cane,  and  it  seemed  to  act  as  a  sort  of 
non-conductor  of  freedom  of  intercourse.  After  the  man  had  gone  he 
said  to  me,  '  Why  don't  you  carry  a  gold-headed  cane  ?  '  I  told  him 
I  did  not  have  enough  dignity.  '  Why  don't  you  carry  one  ?  '  I  said. 
He  replied :  '  I  would  cut  a  nice  figure  coming  into  an  inquiry  meet- 
ing to-night  with  one.  I  think  the  inquirers  would  be  looking  more 
at  the  cane  than  listening  to  me.  A  good  while  ago  I  was  down  in 
the  South,  and  a  delegation  waited  on  me  and  presented  me  with  such 
a  cane.  I  soon  found  myself  being  charged  extra  at  the  hotels,  and 
the  porters,  newsboys,  and  bootblacks  were  charging  about  double. 
I  asked  a  newsboy  why  he  did  it.  "  Oh,"  he  said,  looking  at  my  cane, 
"  you  men  can  afford  it,  and  you  don't  come  around  very  often."  I 
hurried  to  Chicago  for  fear  I  would  run  out  of  money,  put  the  cane  in 
the  closet,  and  have  never  carried  it  since.' 

"  In  another  city  Mr.  Moody  said  to  me :  '  There  seems  to  be 
something  here  out  of  the  ordinary,  obstructing  the  work  and  hinder- 
ing a  great  blessing.'  I  found  out  the  next  day  that  the  town  had 
a  considerable  number  of  freethinkers,  or  theoretical  infidels,  and  they 
were  out  at  the  meetings  to  see  Mr.  Moody,  as  they  said,  hypnotize 
the  converts.  I  told  him  of  the  state  of  things.  Always  very  earnest 
in  his  seasons  of  prayer  in  his  room  before  the  meetings,  that  night 
he  was  even  more  so  than  ordinary.  His  burden  of  heart  seemed  to 
be  very  great.  He  preached  with  great  earnestness,  and  then  called 
for  all  who  desired  to  stay  for  the  after-meeting.  Nearly  the 
whole  congregation  remained.  He  came  down  from  the  platform  to 
get  nearer  to  the  inquirers.  He  began  to  instruct  them,  and  in  a 
little  while  got  upon  a  chair,  to  get  a  better  view  of  his  audience, 
and  launched  out  in  a  most  wonderful  discourse.  His  invectives 
against  sin,  and  lashings  of  the  conscience,  were  awful.  All  his 
resources  of  apt  Scripture  quotation  and  illustration  were  at  perfect 
command.  He  seemed  to  be  wrestling  with  an  unseen  power,  and 


5 28  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

might  have  made  a  good  picture  of  Elijah  on  Carmel.  I  saw  men 
whose  faces  grew  pale  under  conviction  of  conscience.  Then  he  began 
with  the  wooings  of  the  Gospel,  in  a  strain  of  tender  and  heart- 
breaking entreaty,  and  before  he  was  through  the  whole  audience 
seemed  to  be  completely  broken.  One  man  arose  and  said,  '  Mr. 
Moody,  I  want  to  be  a  Christian.'  It  seemed  but  a  moment  after  that 
when  forty  or  fifty  men  were  on  their  feet  making  a  similar  declara- 
tion. The  only  time  I  ever  heard  Mr.  Moody  make  a  comment  on 
any  of  his  sermons  was  that  night,  when  he  said,  '  Thank  God  for  that 
victory.' 

"  When  Mr.  Moody  came  to  know  William  Thaw,  of  Pitts- 
burg,  and  his  broad  generosity  in  giving  to  all  kinds  of  good  work, 
he  was  greatly  impressed.  He  once  went  to  him  to  ask  for  $10,000 
for  his  schools.  Mr.  Thaw  told  him  that  he  had  changed  his  method 
of  giving;  in  place  of  large  amounts  he  preferred  to  give  more  fre- 
quently, and  in  lesser  sums,  and  to  a  greater  number  of  objects;  that 
his  usual  gifts  ranged  from  fifty  to  five  hundred  dollars  in  each  case. 
'  But  I  will  make  an  exception  of  you  and  give  you  $5,000,'  he  said. 
Mr.  Moody  replied :  '  I  am  a  very  busy  man,  Mr.  Thaw,  and  I  hardly 
see  how  I  can  find  the  time  to  come  and  see  you  once  a  month  or  so  to 
get  the  other  $5,000  in  the  smaller  installments.'  Mr.  Thaw  was  so 
greatly  amused  at  this  idea  of  Mr.  Moody's  that  he  gave  him  the 
whole  amount  at  once. 

"  Elijah  was  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  ideal  characters,  but  Elijah  under 
the  juniper  tree  was  to  him  the  very  reverse.  But  once  did  I  see  him 
when  he  seemed  to  be  cast  down.  In  the  place  where  he  was  holding 
meetings  some  one  had  insidiously  circulated  the  false  report  that  he 
was  making  a  great  amount  of  money  out  of  his  work.  He  heard 
about  it,  and  it  greatly  disturbed  him.  He  said :  '  I  have  a  notion 
to  take  the  train  and  go  home.  I  think  I  can  suffer  almost  anything 
but  this.'  I  told  him  that  I  felt  confident  that  not  a  single  Christian 
man  in  the  place  gave  credence  to  such  a  report  for  a  moment.  He 
said  to  me :  '  If  the  committee  or  any  one  else  asks  you  how  much  I 


Traits  and  Characteristics  529 

charge,  tell  them  not  one  cent,  and  if  they  offer  anything  for  me,  refuse 
to  take  it.'  The  false  report,  however,  only  served  to  acquaint  the 
people  of  the  place  with  the  fact  that  great  financial  burdens  were 
resting  on  Mr.  Moody  in  the  education  of  hundreds  of  young  men  and 
women,  and  the  offerings  in  that  place  were  very  generous,  and  when 
they  were  presented  to  him  it  was  with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
the  people  knew  of  his  burden  and  wanted  to  help  him  bear  it." 

Mr.  Moody  frequently  showed  his  high  appreciation  of  music, 
especially  vocal  music,  and  the  prominence  given  to  praise  in  all  his 
services  was  an  evidence  of  this.  Few  people  knew,  however,  that  he 
had  absolutely  no  musical  ear,  being  unable  to  distinguish  one  tune 
from  another.  Paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  no  one  more  readily 
detected  any  difficulty  in  the  singing  or  appreciated  more  highly  a 
well-trained  chorus.  His  use  of  music  in  his  services  was  most  effective. 

The  singing  had  a  great  and  at  times  overpowering  religious  value. 
Before  the  evangelist  arose  the  throngs  were  often  touched  and 
persuaded.  A  great  number  of  cases  came  to  be  known  in  which 
the  momentous  decision  for  Christ  was  actually  made  during  the 
singing.  Never  was  a  more  thoughtless  criticism  uttered  than  that 
Moody  used  music  merely  to  attract. 

In  an  attempt  to  present  the  man's  characteristics  from  all  sides 
and  points  of  view — as  an  evangelist,  an  American,  a  citizen,  a  director, 
a  friend  and  father — it  has  been  impossible  to  do  more  than  touch  upon 
what  was  most  apparent  to  his  friends.  But  the  keynote  of  the  whole 
is  struck  in  the  following  anecdote,  which  appeared  in  "  The  Youth's 
Companion  " : 

"  A  young  missionary  far  in  the  interior  of  China  received  for 
baptism  a  little  child.  The  name  given  was  Moo  Dee,  so  unusual  a 
combination  that  the  minister  asked  its  origin.  '  I  have  heard  of  your 
man  of  God,  Moo  Dee,'  was  the  reply.  '  In  our  dialect  Moo  means 
love,  and  Dee,  God.  I  would  have  my  child,  too,  love  God.'  Mr. 
Moody  knew  no  Chinese,  but  his  name  alone  told  in  that  language  the 
secret  of  his  life." 


CHAPTER    XLTV 
IN  THE  HOME  CIRCLE 

"  f  I  ^  HE  city  is  no  place  for  me.  If  it  was  not  for  the  work  I  am 
called  to  do,  I  would  never  show  my  head  in  this  city  or  any 
other  again.  It  is  a  rush  all  the  time,  and  a  drive.  The 
quiet  days  at  Northfield,  how  I  long  for  them !  " 

Mr.  Moody  frequently  expressed  his  simple  taste  and  love  of  nature, 
as  in  the  foregoing  extract  from  a  letter  written  in  1896  while  at  work 
in  New  York. 

When  in  St.  Louis,  in  April,  1897,  he  wrote: 

"  I  am  thinking  next  Wednesday  morning  I  will  look  out  on  dear 
old  Northfield  and  will  take  a  walk  about  and  see  things.  I  am  just 
longing  to  see  you  all  and  to  sniff  the  fresh  morning  air.  It  is  a 
great  joy  to  think  that  in  so  short  a  time  I  am  to  be  free  once  again. 

"  The  papers  push  the  meeting,  and  the  news  goes  far  and  near,  and 
God  is  using  the  press  greatly.  This  year  it  has  been  a  great  joy  to 
be  used  after  working  forty  years  and  not  be  laid  aside,  and  then  I 
have  great  reason  to  thank  God  for  my  health;  not  a  cold,  not  a 
headache,  but  joy  and  strength  and  pleasure  in  the  work." 

But  it  was  his  devotion  to  his  work  that  was  the  ruling  passion.  It 
was  ever  the  aim  of  his  life  to  be  used  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  in 
this  he  found  his  greatest  joy. 

"  I  do  hope  the  Lord  will  help  me  in  England  as  He  has  here,"  he 
wrote  from  Ireland  in  1892.  "  It  is  a  privilege  to  live  if  I  can  be  used 
as  I  have  been  of  late." 

Mr.  Moody's  hobby  was  his  garden  and  his  chickens.  He  must  have 


In  the  Home  Circle  531 

life;  and  he  loved  to  see  things  grow.  "  Send  me  a  good  farm  letter," 
he  would  frequently  write  home.  Feeding  his  chickens  furnished 
him  with  an  excuse  for  exercise.  He  would  spend  hours  "  puttering 
around  "  his  hen-houses  and  garden,  as  he  expressed  it,  but  all 
the  time  his  mind  was  ready  to  deal  with  more  important  things,  and 
some  associate  was  frequently  at  his  side  seeking  advice  or  discussing 
plans.  His  garden  was  hardly  conducted  on  a  profitable  basis. 

He  usually  devoted  the  early  hours  to  Bible  study,  rising  about 
five  o'clock.  While  undoubtedly  a  hard  worker  when  engaged  in 
an  evangelistic  mission,  Mr.  Moody  probably  accomplished  more 
in  the  four  months  at  home  than  during  the  rest  of  the  year.  A 
friend  thus  described  one  day's  programme : 

"  Rising  early,  he  rode  about  his  farm,  visiting  the  hotel  and  the 
barns  connected  with  the  Seminary  grounds,  giving  an  order  here, 
making  a  suggestion  there,  and  greeting  the  men  pleasantly  as  he 
passed  them.  After  breakfast  he  was  seen  driving  to  the  Seminary, 
where,  at  nine  o'clock,  he  spoke  to  the  girls  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  giving 
them  as  many  helpful  thoughts  as  in  an  ordinary  sermon.  On  his 
way  to  deliver  an  address  at  eleven  o'clock,  at  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Franklin  Conference  of  Congregational  Churches  held  in  the 
village  church,  he  stopped  to  give  an  interview  to  a  correspondent 
regarding  his  plans  for  the  winter  and  his  views  upon  the  preaching 
of  the  day.  Following  the  address,  whose  good  points  were  doubt- 
less emphasized  by  a  large  basket  of  provisions  prepared  by  Mrs. 
Moody  for  the  conference  delegates,  he  drove  four  miles  to  Mount 
Hermon  to  speak  at  noon  to  the  young  men." 

In  his  thoughtful  and  delicate  attention  to  his  aged  mother  he  was 
an  example  to  many  a  less  busy  man.  Seldom  a  day  passed  when  ab- 
sent from  home  that  he  did  not  send  her  some  message,  either  a  short 
note  or  a  newspaper  report  of  his  work,  and  when  at  home  he  was  never 
so  busy  but  that  he  found  time  to  visit  her  to  whom  he  owed  so  much. 

Her  birthday  fell  on  the  same  day  as  his  own  (February  5th),  and 
his  letters  to  her  on  successive  anniversaries  were  peculiarly  tender. 


532  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  You  and  I  have  now  passed  one  more  milestone  on  our  way  from 
earth  to  Heaven,"  he  wrote  at  one  time.  "  We  have  both  reason  to 
thank  God  for  all  His  goodness  to  us." 

"  By  the  time  you  get  this  letter,"  he  wrote  from  Perth,  Scotland,  in 
1892,  "  you  will  be  passing  another  milestone  that  will  bring  you 
nearer  the  Eternal  City.  I  want  to  send  you  my  best  wishes  for  the 
new  year  you  will  be  starting  out  on.  I  hope  it  will  be  full  of  joy  and 
sunshine  and  peace." 

The  last  birthday  letter  he  wrote  her  was  from  San  Antonio,  Texas, 
on  February  2,  1895 : 

"  By  the  time  this  letter  gets  to  you,  you  will  have  entered  your 
ninety-first  year.  Only  think,  when  you  entered  this  world,  Napo- 
leon was  fighting  his  great  battles !  It  seems  a  long  time  as  you  look 
at  the  history  that  has  been  made.  Nations  have  risen  and  fallen. 
Some  have  come  and  gone.  Yet  you  live  and  have  all  your  faculties 
and  good  health.  You  have  much  to  praise  God  for,  and  all  your 
children  rejoice  to  think  you  have  been  spared  to  us  so  long." 

An  incident  that  occurred  an  hour  or  two  before  the  death  of  his 
mother  shows  the  true  unselfishness  and  self-forgetfulness  of  this 
great  heart  at  a  time  of  personal  sorrow.  When  it  was  known  that 
she  was  passing  away  his  daughter  had  a  great  longing  that  her 
grandmother,  before  going,  should  see  her  baby,  then  only  six  weeks 
old.  Knowing  this,  and  also  that  the  end  was  near,  Mr.  Moody  hur- 
ried down  to  his  daughter's  house  and  told  her  to  come  at  once. 

Directly  they  entered  the  room  he  took  little  Emma  in  his  arms 
and,  going  up  to  his  mother,  said,  "  Mother,  this  is  Emma's  baby;  she 
is  here."  Getting  no  answer,  he  walked  to  the  other  side  of  the  bed 
to  try  and  attract  her  notice.  Again  unsuccessful,  he  walked  several 
times  around  the  bed,  holding  the  child  in  different  positions,  now 
high,  now  low,  but  all  of  no  avail.  Finally  kneeling  by  the  bed  and 
holding  the  baby  on  his  left  arm,  he  took  his  mother's  hand,  and,  lay- 
ing it  on  the  child's  head,  said,  "  With  a  great-grandmother's  bless- 
ing." Even  this  did  not  seem  to  satisfy  him,  and,  longing  for  some 


In  the  Home  Circle  533 

sign  that  she  was  conscious  of  what  had  taken  place,  said,  "  Mother, 
if  you  know  what  has  taken  place  let  us  know  in  some  way."  It  was 
only  when,  in  response  to  this,  the  lips  moved  faintly  that  he  seemed 
satisfied,  and,  turning  to  his  daughter,  said,  "  Mother  knows  now;  she 
has  seen  your  child." 

At  the  funeral  services  he  offered  the  most  affectionate  tribute  to 
that  mother's  wisdom  and  loving  devotion. 

Holding  in  his  hands  the  old  family  Bible  and  the  worn  book  of 
devotions,  he  stood  by  the  form  of  the  departed  one,  and  said : 

"  It  is  not  the  custom,  perhaps,  for  a  son  to  take  part  in  such  an 
occasion,  but,  if  I  can  control  myself,  I  should  like  to  say  a  few  words. 
It  is  a  great  honor  to  be  the  son  of  such  a  mother.  I  do  not  know 
where  to  begin;  I  could  not  praise  her  enough.  In  the  first  place, 
my  mother  was  a  very  wise  woman.  In  one  sense  she  was  wiser  than 
Solomon ;  she  knew  how  to  bring  up  her  children.  She  had  nine 
children,  and  they  all  loved  their  home.  She  won  their  hearts  and 
their  affections ;  she  could  do  anything  with  them. 

"  Whenever  I  wanted  real,  sound  counsel,  I  used  to  go  to  my 
mother.  I  have  travelled  a  good  deal,  and  have  seen  a  good  many 
mothers,  but  I  never  saw  one  who  had  such  tact  as  she  had.  She  so 
bound  her  children  to  her  that  it  was  a  great  calamity  for  them  to 
have  to  leave  home.  I  had  two  brothers  that  lived  in  Kansas  and 
died  there.  Their  great  longing  was  to  get  back  to  their  mother.  My 
brother,  who  died  in  Kansas  a  short  time  ago,  had  been  looking  over 
the  Greenfield  papers  for  some  time  to  see  if  he  could  not  buy  a  farm 
in  this  locality.  He  had  a  good  farm  where  he  was,  but  he  was  never 
satisfied ;  he  wanted  to  get  back  to  mother.  That  is  the  way  she  won 
her  family,  she  won  them  to  herself. 

"  I  have  heard  something  within  the  last  forty-eight  hours  that 
nearly  broke  my  heart.  My  eldest  sister  has  told  me  that  the  first 
year  after  my  father  died  mother  wept  herself  to  sleep  every  night. 
Yet  she  was  always  bright  and  cheerful  in  the  presence  of  her  chil- 
dren. Her  sorrows  drove  her  to  the  Lord.  I  would  frequently 


534  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

wake  up  and  hear  her  praying.  She  used  to  make  sure  her  children 
were  all  asleep  before  she  poured  out  her  tears. 

"  There  was  another  remarkable  thing  about  my  mother.  If  she 
loved  one  child  more  than  another,  no  one  ever  found  it  out.  Isaiah, 
he  was  her  first  boy;  she  could  not  get  along  without  Isaiah.  And 
Cornelia,  she  was  her  first  girl ;  she  could  not  get  along  without  Cor- 
nelia, for  she  had  to  take  care  of  the  twins.  And  George,  she  couldn't 
live  without  George.  What  could  she  ever  have  done  without  George? 
He  stayed  right  by  her,  through  thick  and  thin.  She  couldn't  live  with- 
out George.  And  Edwin,  he  bore  the  name  of  her  husband.  And 
Dwight,  I  don't  know  what  she  thought  of  him.  And  Luther,  he 
was  the  dearest  of  all,  because  he  had  to  go  away  to  live.  He  was 
always  homesick  to  get  back  to  mother.  And  Warren,  he  was  the 
youngest  when  father  died ;  it  seemed  as  if  he  was  dearer  than  all  the 
rest.  And  Sam  and  Lizzie,  the  twins,  they  were  the  light  of  her  great 
sorrow. 

"  She  never  complained  of  her  children.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  have 
such  a  mother,  and  I  feel  like  standing  up  here  to-day  to  praise  her. 
And  just  here  I  want  to  say,  before  I  forget  it,  you  don't  know  how 
she  appreciated  the  kindness  which  was  shown  her  in  those  early  days 
of  struggle.  Sometimes  I  would  come  home  and  say,  '  Such  a  man 
did  so  and  so,'  and  she  would  answer,  '  Don't  say  that,  Dwight ;  he 
was  kind  to  me.' 

"  Friends,  it  is  not  a  time  of  mourning.  I  want  you  to  understand 
we  do  not  mourn.  We  are  proud  that  we  had  such  a  mother.  We 
have  a  wonderful  legacy  left  us.  What  more  can  I  say?  You  have 
lived  with  her,  and  you  know  about  her.  I  \vant  to  give  you  one  verse, 
her  creed.  It  was  very  short.  Do  you  know  what  it  was?  I  will  tell 
you.  When  everything  went  against  her,  this  was  her  stay :  '  My 
trust  is  in  God.'  " 

Many  of  his  earlier  sermons  contained  effective  illustrations  sug- 
gested by  the  daily  life  of  his  children,  and  his  influence  upon  the  lives 
of  the  children  in  other  homes  was  great. 


In  the  Home  Circle 


535 


No  work  was  so  important  as  to  make  him  neglect  his  family 
duties  and  privileges.  He  took  keen  interest  in  the  experiences  of 
his  sons  at  school  and  college,  and  shared  their  joys  and  entered  into 
the  excitement  of  their  sports  with  the  zest  of  a  fellow-student.  The 
slightest  matter  that  caused  sorrow  or  pain  to  any  member  of  his 
family,  even  the  youngest,  engaged  at  once  his  personal  concern,  and 
no  drudgery  of  house  or  farm  was  beneath  his  notice  or  sympathetic 
interest.  He  had  learned  the  secret  of  being  a  confidant  of  all,  shar- 
ing others'  burdens,  weeping  with  the  sorrowing  and  rejoicing  with 
those  glad  of  heart. 

As  a  grandfather  he  seemed  to  experience  a  special  joy,  and  entered 
into  sweetest  and  happiest  relations  with  the  little  ones  who  laid  hold 
of  his  heart.  Irene  Moody,  born  on  August  20,  1895,  and  Emma 
Moody  Fitt,  born  on  December  i6th  of  the  same  year,  were  the  old- 
est grandchildren  who  claimed  his  love. 

"  Do  you  know  I  have  a  granddaughter  ?  I  am  taking  a  present 
over  to  her,"  he  shouted  from  his  buggy  to  a  friend  on  the  natal  day 
of  his  oldest  grandchild  as  he  pointed  to  a  basket  of  doughnuts.  He 
was  happy  as  a  schoolboy  on  a  holiday,  and  told  the  news  to  every- 
body he  met.  Later,  that  day,  he  made  a  second  trip  to  Mount 
Hermon  to  see  the  baby,  this  time  bringing  over  an  immense  cauli- 
flower, the  best  his  garden  had  produced. 

This  same  playful  nature  was  shown  in  his  first  letter  to  little 
Emma  Fitt  on  January  7,  1896,  when  she  was  three  weeks  old: 

"  This  is  my  first  letter  to  my  dear  little  grandchild.  I  wanted  to 
get  a  letter  to  you  before  you  got  your  first  tooth.  Hurry  up  and 
get  them  all  before  the  hot  weather  comes  on,  for  I  will  get  you  some 
candy  and  you  will  want  teeth  to  eat  it.  I  want  you  to  hurry  up  and 
grow  so  I  can  come  early  mornings  and  take  you  out  riding  when 
your  mother  and  father  are  fast  asleep.  We  will  slip  over  the  river 
to  see  Irene,  and  have  some  good  times.  Your  mother  is  so  proud 
of  you,  and  your  nurse  is  so  fussy.  Only  think,  Emma,  what  your 
mother  said  the  other  day— I,  your  grandfather,  could  not  kiss  you  on 


536  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

your  lips !  Did  you  ever  hear  anything  like  that  ?  But  I  got  a  kiss 
on  your  lips  all  the  same,  and  I  will  get  a  good  many  more  when  I 
get  home." 

"  I  have  just  heard,"  he  wrote  a  few  months  later,  "  that  the  milk 
you  get  at  my  house  does  not  agree  with  you.  But  I  think  the  fault 
is  not  with  the  milk  but  with  the  cooks.  You  know,  or  you  should  be 
old  enough  to  know,  that  when  you  cook  milk  and  put  it  in  a  bottle 
and  put  a  black  rubber  nipple  on  it — well,  you  will  be  disgusted  when 
you  get  a  little  older  and  know  how  your  parents  have  treated  you ! 
You  must  not  blame  my  old  cow,  for  she  is  as  good  as  she  can  be.  I 
do  not  want  to  turn  you  against  your  parents,  but  if  they  do  not  treat 
you  right,  slip  down  to  my  house  and  get  some  doughnuts  and  ice- 
cream." 

In  another  letter  to  the  same  grandchild  he  wrote : 

"  In  six  days  you  will  be  one  year  old,  and  your  grandmother  will 
make  you  a  cake  and  have  it  all  frosted  over  with  white  sugar,  and 
they  will  put  one  tiny  little  candle  in  it.  ... 

"  I  am  going  to  steal  up  to  your  house  next  summer  and  take  you 
out  riding  before  your  parents  get  up.  Only  think,  some  fine  June 
morning  we  can  go  up  Lovers'  Retreat.  The  birds  will  sing  you  a 
beautiful  song.  What  times  we  will  have  together !  I  get  real  home- 
sick thinking  about  it.  ... 

"  And  now,  my  dear  Emma,  I  am  praying  for  you  that  the  Lord  will 
watch  over  you  day  and  night  and  keep  you  from  all  harm.  You 
will  never  know  how  much  your  grandfather  loves  you.  I  shall  be 
glad  to  get  you  into  my  arms  again." 

And  so  his  loving  heart  went  out  to  his  grandchildren,  and  they 
in  return  loved  none  better  than  him.  When  boasting  one  day  that 
his  grandchildren  always  gave  him  instant  obedience,  a  member  of 
the  family  asked  the  secret  of  his  power. 

"  I  am  very  careful  never  to  ask  them  to  do  a  thing  which  I  am 
not  sure  they  want  to  do,"  he  replied  laughingly.  He  studied  men, 
and  so  far  as  possible  he  led  instead  of  driving.  In  the  summer 


In  the  Home  Circle  537 

months  he  would  usually  be  seen  with  one  or  more  of  the  little  ones 
seated  beside  him  as  he  drove  around  the  town. 

"  I  saw  him  one  morning  driving  with  his  little  four-year-old  grand- 
daughter into  the  yard  of  his  house,"  writes  a  friend.  "  The  child 
had  gone  to  sleep  in  the  buggy,  leaning  against  him.  Rather  than 
disturb  her,  Mr.  Moody  had  the  horse  gently  unharnessed  and  taken 
away,  while  they  sat  on.  Presently  he,  too,  was  overcome  with 
sleep." 

God  had  ordained  something  other  than  unbroken  joy  for  the 
happy  grandfather.  His  only  grandson  and  namesake,  who  was  born 
on  November  7,  1897,  was  taken  home  on  November  30,  1898, 
while  Mr.  Moody  was  absent  in  Colorado.  In  a  letter  to  the  parents, 
written  from  Colorado  Springs,  he  said: 

" .  .  .  I  know  Dwight  is  having  a  good  time,  and  we  should 
rejoice  with  him.  What  would  the  mansions  be  without  children? 
He  was  the  last  to  come  into  our  circle,  and  he  is  the  first  to  go  up 
there !  So  safe,  so  free  from  all  the  sorrow  that  we  are  passing 
through !  I  do  thank  God  for  such  a  life.  It  was  nearly  all  smiles 
and  sunshine,  and  what  a  glorified  body  he  will  have,  and  with  what 
joy  he  will  await  your  coming !  God  does  not  give  us  such  strong 
love  for  each  other  for  a  few  days  or  years,  but  it  is  going  to  last  for- 
ever, and  you  will  have  the  dear  little  man  with  you  for  ages  and  ages, 
and  love  will  keep  increasing.  The  Master  had  need  of  him,  or  He 
would  not  have  called  him ;  and  you  should  feel  highly  honored  that 
you  had  anything  in  your  home  that  He  wanted. 

"  I  cannot  think  of  him  as  belonging  to  earth.  The  more  I  think 
of  him  the  more  I  think  he  was  only  sent  to  us  to  draw  us  all  closer 
to  each  other  and  up  to  the  world  of  light  and  joy.  I  could  not  wish 
him  back,  if  he  could  have  all  earth  could  give  him.  And  then 
the  thought  that  the  Saviour  will  take  such  good  care  of  him !  No 
going  astray,  no  sickness,  no  death.  Dear,  dear  little  fellow !  I  love 
to  think  of  him,  so  sweet,  so  safe,  and  so  lovely !  His  life  was  not 


538  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

only  blameless,  but  faultless;  and  if  his  life  here  was  so  sweet,  what 
will  it  be  up  there  ?  I  believe  the  only  thing  he  took  away  from  earth 
was  that  sweet  smile,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  when  he  saw  the 
Saviour  he  smiled  as  he  did  when  he  saw  you,  and  the  word  that 
keeps  coming  to  my  mind  is  this :  *  It  is  well  with  the  child.'  Only 
think  of  his  translation !  Thank  God,  Dwight  is  safe  at  home,  and 
we  will  all  of  us  see  him  soon. 

"  Your  loving  father, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

The  next  few  months  were  filled  with  anxiety  as  his  oldest  grand- 
child, little  Irene,  was  slowly  recovering  from  a  protracted  and  un- 
usually persistent  attack  of  pneumonia.  Later  it  was  found  that  the 
germs  of  consumption  had  become  implanted  in  the  weakened  sys- 
tem, and  after  a  few  weeks'  wasting  illness  she  joined  her  little  brother, 
just  four  months  before  their  grandfather  followed  them. 

Mr.  Moody's  own  deep  affliction  in  the  bereavement  was  hidden 
from  the  parents  in  his  unselfish  efforts  to  cheer  and  comfort  them. 
At  the  funeral  service  of  little  Irene,  unannounced  and  unexpectedly, 
he  arose  and  paid  the  following  tribute  to  the  little  life  he  loved  so 
dearly : 

"  I  have  been  thinking  this  morning  about  the  aged  prophet  wait- 
ing in  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  so  many  years  ago,  for  the  chariot  of 
God  to  take  him  home.  Again  the  chariot  of  God  came  down  to  the 
Connecticut  Valley  yesterday  morning  about  half-past  six  and  took 
our  little  Irene  home.  The  one  was  taken  at  the  end  of  years  of 
active  service;  the  other  at  the  early  dawn  of  youth.  But  the  service 
of  the  prophet  was  no  more  complete  than  that  of  the  little  handmaid 
of  the  Lord,  for  God  called  both,  and  He  never  interrupts  the  service 
of  His  own. 

"  Irene  has  finished  her  course ;  her  work  was  well  wrought  on 
earth.  She  had  accomplished  more  than  many  in  their  threescore 
years  and  ten.  We  would  not  have  her  back,  although  her  voice  was 


MRS.  D.  L.  MOODY  WITH  GRANDCHILDREN. 


In  the  Home  Circle  541 

the  sweetest  voice  I  ever  heard  on  earth.  She  never  met  me  once, 
since  she  was  three  months  old,  until  the  last  few  days  of  pain,  without 
a  smile.  But  Christ  had  some  service  for  her  above.  My  life  has 
been  made  much  better  by  her  ministry  here  on  earth.  She  has  made 
us  all  better.  She  has  been  a  blessing  to  all  the  conferences  here 
this  year.  She  has  brought  a  wealth  of  sympathy  into  the  meetings 
such  as  we  have  never  had  before.  During  the  young  men's  con- 
ference I  tried  to  keep  it  secret,  but  while  I  was  on  the  platform  my 
heart  was  over  at  the  home.  On  the  day  after  the  conference  closed 
she  left  for  the  Adirondacks,  and  we  feared  we  might  never  see  her 
again.  During  the  women's  conference  my  heart  was  yonder  in  the 
mountains  at  Saranac.  The  last  night  of  that  conference,  while  I 
was  trying  to  speak  to  the  young  women  words  of  cheer  and  encour- 
agement, I  was  constantly  thinking  of  the  little  girl,  and  within  twelve 
hours  I  was  by  her  side. 

"  The  last  few  days  have  been  blessed  days  to  me.  I  have  learned 
many  new  and  precious  lessons.  She  was  very  fond  of  riding  with 
me,  and  on  Monday  morning,  twenty-four  hours  before  she  fell  asleep, 
she  asked  me  to  take  her  driving,  and  at  6.30  we  were  out  together. 
She  never  looked  more  beautiful.  She  was  just  ripening  for  Heaven. 
She  was  too  fair  for  this  earth.  I  tKank  God  this  morning  for  the 
hope  of  immortality.  I  know  I  shall  see  her  in  the  morning,  more 
beautiful  in  her  resurrection  glory  than  she  was  here." 

On  November  13,  1899,  a  fourth  grandchild  was  born — Mary 
Whittle  Moody — and  early  the  next  day  the  following  telegram  and 
letter  were  sent  to  her  parents.  The  grandfather's  cup  of  joy  had 
been  filled  once  more. 

"  Thankful  for  good  news.  May  she  become  famous  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  the  prayer  of  her  grandfather, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

"  MY  DEAR  WILL  :  I  am  full  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to-day  and 
am  delighted  to  think  of  May  and  yourself  with  a  daughter.     Dear 
30 


542  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

little  child,  I  already  feel  my  heart  going  out  towards  her.  Kiss  the 
dear  baby  for  me.  I  do  feel  as  if  our  prayers  have  been  answered. 
Thank  God  for  another  grandchild." 

These  messages  were  sent  from  Kansas  City  only  two  days  before 
he  was  obliged  to  lay  down  his  active  labors.  At  the  same  time  he 
wrote  his  only  other  surviving  grandchild,  Emma  Fitt,  then  nearly 
four  years  old,  one  of  those  simple,  loving  letters  that  bound  his 
grandchildren  to  him  with  undying  love.  It  was  as  follows : 

"  MY  DEAR  EMMA  :  I  am  glad  that  you  have  a  little  cousin.  Will 
you  kiss  her  for  me,  and  will  you  show  her  your  grandfather's  picture  ? 
(referring  to  a  newspaper  clipping  he  enclosed).  I  do  not  think  she 
will  know  me,  but  you  can  tell  her  all  about  me,  so  she  will  know  me 
when  she  gets  older,  and  we  will  play  together  with  her.  I  am  going 
to  send  her  a  little  kiss,  just  one  little  one. 

"  Your  grandfather, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY. 

"  I  will  put  the  kiss  in  a  little  box  and  you  can  take  it  to  her." 

Little  Mary,  the  new-born  babe,  was  carried  to  her  grandfather's 
house  ten  days  later,  but  she  will  have  to  learn  of  his  loving,  playful, 
tender  heart  from  the  precious  letters  and  photographs  for  whose 
possession  the  family  are  now  so  thankful. 

"  Has  grandpa  gone  to  Jesus'  house?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Where  Dwight  and  Irene  are  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  I  want  to  go  there,  too,  and  I'll  just  hug  grandpa  when  I 
see  him,  and  we'll  all  play  together." 

These  questions  were  asked  by  the  remaining  four-year-old  grand- 
child when  told  that  she  would  never  again  see  her  grandfather  down 
here. 


In  the  Home  Circle  543 

With  advancing  years  there  had  been  no  irascibility,  so  common 
in  many  elderly  men,  but  the  spirit  had  grown  more  sweet  and  tender 
in  its  ripening  for  Heaven.  The  little  ones  were  drawn  to  him,  as 
they  were  drawn  to  his  Master,  and  in  their  company  he  seemed  to 
have  a  foretaste  of  that  society  which  he  now  enjoys,  for  has  it  not 
been  saiH  that  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ? 


CHAPTER    XLV 
WITHIN  THE  GATES 

HAWLEY-,  were  you  ever  homesick  for  Heaven  ? "  Mr. 
Moody  asked  once,  at  the  close  of  a  long,  tiring  day's 
work.  "  Do  you  know.  I've  just  been  reading  something 
from  Rutherford,  and  I  think  I  understand  sometimes  how  he  felt. 
See  this,"  and  then  he  handed  the  book  with  this  passage  marked : 

"  His  absence  is  like  a  mountain  upon  my  heavy  heart ;  O,  when 
shall  we  meet? 

"  O,  how  long  it  is  to  the  dawning  of  the  marriage  day :  O,  sweet 
Lord  Jesus,  take  long  steps. 

"  O,  my  beloved,  flee  like  a  roe  or  a  young  hart  upon  the  mountains 
of  separation. 

"  O,  that  He  would  fold  the  Heaven  together  like  an  old  cloak  and 
shovel  time  and  days  away  and  make  ready  the  Lamb's  Wife  for  her 
Husband. 

"  Since  He  looked  upon  me,  my  heart  is  not  my  own;  He  hath  run 
away  to  Heaven  with  it. 

*'  How  sweet  the  wind  that  bloweth  out  of  the  quarter  where  Christ 
is!" 

This  conversation  took  place  in  the  early  sixties.  During  the  last 
year  of  his  earthly  career,  the  same  longing  was  at  times  greatly  in- 
tensified. Mr.  Moody  had  been  spared  from  bereavement  to  an  un- 
usual degree,  and  when  called  upon  to  lay  away  the  form  of  his  aged 
mother,  in  her  ninety-first  year,  there  was  only  a  sense  of  joyful  vic- 
tory that  God  had  so  long  granted  to  her  a  mind  and  body  unimpaired. 


Within  the  Gates  545 

It  was  his  solicitude  for  others  that  made  him  conceal  from  those 
nearest  him  his  first  symptoms  of  a  break-down,  although  doubtless 
he  himself  little  realized  their  serious  nature.  An  illness  in  the  home 
of  one  of  his  family  seemed  to  him  an  imperative  call  for  Mrs.  Moody 
to  remain  at  Northfield;  at  the  same  time  he  reassured  her  as  to  his 
own  health. 

An  invitation  had  been  accepted  to  conduct  a  series  of  meetings 
in  the  large  Convention  Hall  of  Kansas  City,  and  Mr.  Moody  started 
for  the  West  early  in  November.  Here  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  C.  C. 
Case,  who  conducted  the  choir  during  the  mission,  and  thus  de- 
scribes the  few  days  of  sickness  preceding  his  return  on  November 
1 7th: 

"  Tuesday  morning  at  breakfast  I  saw  that  he  looked  pale  and  ate 
little.  I  asked  how  he  rested,  and  he  said,  '  I  slept  in  my  chair  all 
night.'  Of  course  I  knew  if  he  could  not  lie  down  he  was  a  sick  man. 
I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter;  he  said  he  had  had  a  pain  in  his  chest 
for  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  added,  '  I  did  not  let  my  family  know  it,  for 
they  would  not  have  let  me  come  on  here.'  I  had  to  urge  him  for  an 
hour  or  two  before  he  would  consent  to  call  a  doctor,  but  finally  he 
gave  in.  The  doctor  put  a  mustard  plaster  on  his  chest,  which  at  once 
relieved  the  pain.  He  preached  six  sermons  after  that,  but  I  could 
see  that  he  was  all  the  time  growing  weaker,  and  the  last  two  days 
he  had  to  be  taken  to  the  hall  in  a  carriage,  although  it  was  only  two 
blocks  away.  When  he  began  speaking  he  did  not  show  his  weak- 
ness, but  preached  with  his  old-time  fire  and  spirit ;  but  when  he  got 
back  to  his  room  I  could  see  that  he  was  very  much  exhausted.  I  tried 
to  make  him  advise  his  family  of  his  condition,  but  he  would  not  until 
the  day  he  started  for  home. 

"  I  think  he  enjoyed  his  work  in  Kansas  City  as  well  as  any  he  ever 
did,  from  what  he  said  to  me.  The  crowds  were  greater  than  any 
that  I  had  ever  experienced  with  him.  The  singing  pleased  him  very 
much,  for  I  had  nearly  a  thousand  voices  in  the  choir.  We  had  an 
'  Old  Men's  Quartet '  that  he  particularly  enjoyed.  Their  ages  varied 


546  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

from  sixty-seven  to  eighty-two,  and  he  would  announce  their  selec- 
tions by  saying,  '  I  want  my  boys  to  sing  so  and  so.'  " 

The  following  letter  was  written  at  this  time  to  a  very  dear  friend 
in  Scotland: 

"  KANSAS  CITY,  November  12,  1899. 
"  MY  DEAR  MRS.  McKiNNON: 

"  I  am  off  here  all  alone,  thinking  of  the  past,  and  you  and  your 
good  husband  have  come  into  my  mind,  and  I  just  long  to  see  you 
both  once  more.  It  would  do  my  eyes  good  to  see  you  all,  and  ride 
down  that  western  coast  [of  Scotland]  once  more.  I  wonder  if  I 
should  like  your  new  house  as  well  as  your  old  one  ? 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  miss  dear  Drummond.  It  does  not 
seem  possible  I  shall  not  see  him  again  on  earth.  What  a  grand  time 
we  shall  all  have  when  we  get  to  Heaven !  Only  think  what  a  lot  have 
gone  home  since  1873,  when  we  first  met.  I  get  homesick  for  them 
sometimes,  and  yet  I  would  not  be  off  until  the  work  that  the  Lord 
has  given  me  to  do  is  finished.  The  work  is  sweeter  now  than  ever, 
and  I  think  I  have  some  streams  started  that  will  flow  on  forever. 
What  a  joy  to  be  in  the  harvest  field  and  have  a  hand  in  God's  work ! 

"  Will  you  give  my  warmest  love  to  all  old  friends,  and  take  much 
for  yourself  ? 

"  Your  loving  friend, 

"  D.  L.  MOODY." 

In  conversation  with  Mr.  Vining,  a  warm  friend  and  former  stu- 
dent of  Mount  Hermon  School,  he  talked  of  the  institutions  which 
he  had  founded,  and  said  that  the  work  in  Kansas  City  was,  he  be- 
lieved, as  great  as  any  God  had  given  him  to  do.  He  spoke  of  the 
bereavements  that  had  occurred  in  his  family  during  the  past  year, 
and,  picking  up  a  copy  of  his  book,  "  Thoughts  from  My  Library,"  he 
read  a  selection  that  has  a  peculiar  interest  now.  It  was  a  comment 
on  the  text  (Psalm  xxx.  5),  "  Weeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but 
joy  cometh  in  the  morning"  The  extract  ends  with  the  words : 


Within  the  Gates  547 

"  I  have  heard  it  in  the  Land  of  Light  from  which  I  come.  There 
is  a  time  approaching,  steadily  if  not  quickly,  when  '  the  Lord  will 
wipe  away  tears  from  all  faces.'  This  weary  world  shall  obtain  joy  and 
gladness  at  last,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away.  '  Wherefore 
comfort  one  another  with  these  words.'  " 

In  view  of  the  approaching  end,  the  following  paragraphs  from  one 
of  the  last  sermons  in  Kansas  City  are  significant: 

"  I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  idea  that  our  best  days  are  behind 
us,"  and  he  smiled  as  he  related  the  impression  that  he  had  a  year 
before  when  he  saw  in  the  papers  that  "  Old  Moody  is  in  town." 
"  Why,"  he  said,  "  I  am  only  sixty-two ;  I  am  only  a  baby  in  com- 
parison with  the  great  eternity  which  is  to  come. 

"  We  say  this  is  the  land  of  the  living !  It  is  not.  It  is  the  land  of 
the  dying.  What  is  our  life  here  but  a  vapor?  A  hearse  is  the  most 
common  sight.  Families  broken  into.  Over  there  is  one  who  has  lost 
a  father,  there  a  mother,  there  is  a  place  vacant,  there  a  sister's  name 
is  no  more  heard,  there  a  brother's  love  is  missed.  Death  stalks 
triumphant  through  our  midst,  in  this  world.  Only  yesterday  I  met  a 
mother  who  had  lost  her  babe.  Death  in  front  of  us,  death  behind  us, 
death  to  the  right  of  us,  death  to  the  left  of  us.  See  the  hos- 
pitals in  our  land,  and  the  asylums  for  the  insane,  and  the  blind,  and 
the  aged. 

"  See  the  great  number  of  jails  in  our  land.  Seventy  thousand  crim- 
inals in  our  country.  But  look  at  the  other  world.  No  death,  no  pain, 
no  sorrow,  no  old  age,  no  sickness,  no  bending  forms,  no  dimmed 
eyes,  no  tears.  But  joy,  peace,  love,  happiness.  No  gray  hair. 
People  all  young.  River  of  life  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  and 
everlasting  life.  Think  of  it !  Life !  Life !  Life  without  end !  And 
yet  so  many  men  choose  this  life  on  earth,  instead  of  the  life  in  Heaven. 
Don't  close  your  heart  against  eternal  life.  Only  take  the  gift,  only 
take  it.  Will  you  do  it?  " 

Near  the  close  of  one  service,  Mr.  Moody  leaned  on  the  organ  and 
asked  the  ministers: 


548  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Will  you  ministers  allow  me  to  say  a  word  to  you?  " 

"  Yes,  yes;  say  what  you  want,"  they  answered. 

"  Well,  I'm  not  a  prophet,  but  I  have  a  guess  to  make  that  I  think 
will  prove  a  true  prophecy.  You  hear  so  much  nowadays  about  the 
preacher  of  the  twentieth  century.  Do  you  know  what  sort  of  a  man 
he  will  be?  He  will  be  the  sort  of  a  preacher  who  opens  his  Bible  and 
preaches  out  of  that.  Oh,  I'm  sick  and  tired  of  this  essay  preaching! 
I'm  nauseated  with  this  '  silver-tongued  orator  '  preaching !  I  like  to 
hear  preachers,  and  not  windmills." 

Had  he  known  that  this  was  to  be  his  last  sermon,  could  he  have 
made  a  more  urgent  and  characteristic  appeal  in  closing  than  the 
following? 

"  Suppose  we  should  write  out  to-night  this  excuse  ?  How  would 
it  sound?  '  To  the  King  of  Heaven:  While  sitting  in  Convention 
Hall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  November  16,  1899,  I  received  a  very  pressing 
invitation  from  one  of  your  servants  to  be  present  at  the  marriage 
supper  of  Your  only-begotten  Son.  I  pray  Thee  have  me  excused.' 

"  Would  you  sign  that,  young  man?  Would  you,  mother?  Would 
you  come  up  to  the  reporters'  table,  take  a  pen,  and  put  your  name 
down  to  such  an  excuse?  You  would  say,  '  Let  my  right  hand  forget 
its  cunning,  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  before  I 
sign  that.'  I  doubt  if  there  is  one  here  who  would  sign  it.  Will  you 
then  pay  no  attention  to  God's  invitation?  I  beg  of  you,  do  not  make 
light  of  it.  It  is  a  loving  God  inviting  you  to  a  feast,  and  God  is  not 
to  be  mocked.  Go  play  with  forked  lightning,  go  trifle  with  pestilence 
and  disease,  but  trifle  not  with  God. 

"  Just  let  me  write  out  another  answer :  '  To  the  King  of  Heaven : 
While  sitting  in  Convention  Hall,  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  November  16, 
1899, 1  received  a  pressing  invitation  from  one  of  Your  messengers  to 
be  present  at  the  marriage  supper  of  Your  only-begotten  Son.  I 
hasten  to  reply.  By  the  grace  of  God  I  will  be  present.'  " 

Under  the  imperative  order  of  his  physician  Mr.  Moody  reluctantly 
consented  to  cease  work,  and,  leaving  Kansas  City  by  the  evening 


Within  the  Gates  549 

train,  travelled  directly  home  without  breaking  the  journey,  which 
required  a  day  and  two  nights  on  the  road.  On  the  way  an  incident 
occurred  that  cheered  and  encouraged  him  greatly.  From  St.  Louis 
to  Detroit  the  train  was  delayed  by  the  burning  out  of  the  locomotive 
fire  grate,  and  it  was  feared  that  connections  would  be  missed  at  a 
later  point.  The  new  engineer,  who  was  to  take  the  train  from  De- 
troit to  St.  Thomas,  learning  that  Mr.  Moody  was  on  the  train,  re- 
turning home  sick,  sent  word  to  him  that  he  would  do  his  best  to 
make  up  the  lost  time.  "  Tell  him,"  he  said,  "  that  I  was  converted 
under  him  fifteen  years  ago,  and  I  owe  everything  to  him."  The 
division  from  Detroit  to  St.  Thomas  was  covered  in  the  darkness  of 
that  night  at  a  speed  averaging  a  mile  a  minute,  including  stops,  and 
the  connection  for  the  East  was  secured. 

The  first  intimation  that  Mr.  Moody's  family  had  of  his  illness  was  a 
telegram : 

"  Doctor  thinks  I  need  rest.  Am  on  my  way  home."  This  was 
followed  at  short  intervals  by  other  telegrams : 

"  Improving  rapidly.     Have  not  felt  so  well  for  a  week." 

"  Have  had  a  splendid  day.  No  fever.  Heart  growing  better  all 
the  time.  No  pain.  Am  taking  good  care  of  myself,  -not  only  for 
the  loved  ones,  but  for  the  work  I  think  God  still  has  for  me  to  do  on 
earth." 

Arriving  at  Greenfield,  Mr.  Moody  was  met  and  driven  twelve 
miles  to  his  home.  He  went  upstairs  with  little  difficulty  to  prepare 
for  tea,  but  never  descended  again. 

On  reaching  Northfield,  he  telegraphed  Kansas  City  friends : 

"  Have  reached  home  safely.  Have  travelled  backward  and  forward 
for  forty  years,  and  never  stood  trip  better.  Regret  exceedingly  being 
forced  to  leave.  Had  I  been  with  you  to-night  I  would  have  preached 
on  '  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  Kingdom.'  My  prayer  is  that  many 
may  be  led  into  the  Kingdom  under  Mr.  Torrey's  preaching.  I  want 
to  thank  the  good  people  of  Kansas  City  for  their  kindness  and 
prayers." 


550  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

It  was  hoped  that  a  complete  rest  would  restore  the  weakened 
heart,  and  specialists  were  consulted  who  gave  encouragement  for 
an  ultimate  restoration  of  health,  even  if  the  old-time  vigor  could 
never  again  return.  But  day  by  day  his  weakness  increased.  At 
first  it  was  almost  imperceptible,  but  it  grew  steadily  more  noticeable, 
until  the  least  effort  seemed  to  tax  his  strength. 

Until  within  a  few  days  of  the  end  he  took  the  keenest  interest  in 
everything,  and  insisted  on  being  told  all  the  latest  news  of  the  war  in 
South  Africa,  over  which  he  was  greatly  exercised.  A  few  days  before 
the  final  summons  he  was  resting  quietly  with  closed  eyes,  when 
suddenly  he  remarked : 

"  I  know  what  I  would  do  if  I  were  old  Kriiger." 

Thinking  that  he  had  been  dreaming,  his  son  inquired  if  he  had 
had  a  good  rest. 

"  I  wasn't  asleep,"  he  replied;  "  I  was  thinking  of  that  horrible 
war." 

"  Well,  what  would  you  do  if  you  were  Kriiger,  father?  " 

"  Oh,  I  would  just  send  a  message  to  Lord  Salisbury,  and  state 
that  there  had  been  so  many  hundreds  killed  on  the  Boer  side,  and  so 
many  on  the  English  side.  And  I  would  say  that,  as  an  old  man,  I 
should  soon  have  to  stand  before  God,  and  that  I  didn't  want  to  go 
before  Him  with  all  this  blood  on  my  conscience,  and  I  would  tell 
England  to  make  her  own  terms  of  peace." 

It  was  suggested  that  possibly  England  herself  was  not  entirely 
innocent. 

"  That's  quite  so;  but  if  Kriiger  placed  himself  in  that  position, after 
showing  the  fight  he  has,  England  would  have  to  make  the  best  of 
terms,  or  answer  for  it  to  the  best  element  in  her  own  land,  as  well 
as  the  entire  civilized  world." 

God  had  tried  His  servant  in  many  ways,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  ever 
experienced  a  severer  trial  than  that  of  the  last  few  weeks.  After  sixty- 
two  years  of  an  unusually  active  life,  with  the  remembrance  of  not  more 
than  one  or  two  days  of  slight  illness,  to  be  suddenly  laid  aside  to  wait 


Within  the  Gates  551 

patiently  and  in  extreme  weakness  for  God's  will,  was  indeed  a  severe 
test.  But  in  this  he  was  found  "  not  wanting,"  and  it  was  with  a 
sense  of  exultant  and  victorious  joy  that  he  entered  the  presence  of  his 
Lord  and  heard  the  words,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 

As  time  wore  slowly  away — slowly  to  a  man  of  such  tremendous 
activity — he  would  say  that  every  night  he  longed  for  the  morning. 
As  he  grew  weaker,  he  said  he  knew  now  what  that  verse  meant: 
"  The  grasshopper  shall  be  a  burden."  On  Thursday,  December 
2  ist,  he  had  seemed  rather  more  nervous  than  usual,  but  nevertheless 
spoke  cheerfully  about  himself.  Asked  if  he  was  comfortable,  he 
said :  "  Oh,  yes !  God  is  very  good  to  me — and  so  is  my  family." 

No  man  loved  his  family  and  lifework  more  devotedly,  and  he  had 
often  said :  "  Life  is  very  sweet  to  me,  and  there  is  no  position  of 
power  or  wealth  that  could  tempt  me  from  the  throne  God  has  given 
me." 

To  the  world,  Friday,  December  22d,  was  the  shortest  day  of  all  the 
year,  but  for  Dwight  L.  Moody  its  dawn  ushered  in  that  day  that 
knows  no  night.  For  forty-six  years  he  had  been  a  partaker  of  the  di- 
vine life,  and  the  transition  from  the  seen  world  to  the  unseen,  from 
the  sphere  of  the  temporal  to  that  of  the  eternal,  was  no  interruption 
in  the  life  with  which  his  friends  were  familiar.  For  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury his  one  aim  in  life  had  been  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  he  re- 
sponded with  a  characteristic  readiness  to  God's  summons.  Only  a 
few  days  before  his  going,  in  conversation  about  some  future  plans, 
he  referred  to  the  possibility  of  his  lifework  being  nearly  completed. 
In  reply  to  a  remonstrance  and  an  attempt  to  encourage  him,  he  said : 

"  I'm  not  discouraged.  There's  lots  of  hard  work  left  in  me  yet,  I 
believe.  I  want  to  live  as  long  as  I'm  useful,  but  when  my  work  is 
done  I  want  to  be  up  and  off." 

A  few  days  before  the  end,  came  an  illustration  of  his  characteristic 
combination  of  faith  and  works.  While  the  best  medical  advice  had 
been  secured,  he  observed  the  injunction  of  St.  James  to  call  in  the 
elders  and  to  anoint  with  oil,  praying  for  the  restoratien  of  the  sick. 


552  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

To  within  a  few  hours  of  the  end  Mr.  Moody  shared  with  his  family 
the  conviction  that  he  was  improving.  One  of  his  last  undertakings 
was  to  assume  the  publication  of  a  monthly  periodical,  to  be  the  organ 
of  the  new  Northfield  Extension  work.  The  first  number  under  the 
new  management  was  received  Thursday  morning.  At  once  he  asked 
to  see  a  copy,  but  was  advised  to  wait  and  not  to  tax  his  strength. 
But  he  insisted  on  being  allowed  at  least  to  examine  it,  "  just  to  see 
how  it  looks,"  and  for  several  minutes  went  through  it  carefully. 

After  a  rather  restless  night  he  fell  into  a  quiet  sleep  for  over  an 
hour,  from  which  he  awoke  in  a  sinking  condition.  During  the  earlier 
hours  of  the  night,  Mr.  Fitt,  his  son-in-law,  had  been  by  his  bedside, 
and  he  had  seemed  to  rest  and  sleep  a  greater  part  of  the  time.  At 
three  in  the  morning  the  elder  son  took  the  place  as  watcher  in  the 
sick-chamber,  and  for  several  hours  Mr.  Moody  was  very  restless  and 
unable  to  sleep.  About  six  o'clock  he  quieted  down,  and  soon  fell 
into  a  natural  sleep,  from  which  he  awoke  in  about  an  hour.  Sud- 
denly he  was  heard  speaking  in  slow  and  measured  words.  He  was 
saying : 

"  Earth  recedes;  Heaven  opens  before  me."  The  first  impulse  was 
to  try  to  arouse  him  from  what  appeared  to  be  a  dream.  "  No,  this  is 
no  dream,  Will,"  he  replied.  "  It  is  beautiful.  It  is  like  a  trance.  If 
this  is  death,  it  is  sweet.  There  is  no  valley  here.  God  is  calling  me, 
and  I  must  go." 

Meanwhile  the  nurse  was  summoning  the  family  and  the  physician, 
who  had  spent  the  night  in  the  house.  Mr.  Moody  continued  to  talk 
quietly,  and  seemed  to  speak  from  another  world  his  last  message  to 
the  loved  ones  he  was  leaving. 

"  I  have  always  been  an  ambitious  man,"  he  said;  "  ambitious  to 
leave  no  wealth  or  possessions,  but  to  leave  lots  of  work  for  you  to  do. 
Will,  you  will  carry  on  Mount  Hermon.  Paul  will  take  up  the  Semi- 
nary, when  he  is  older;  Fitt  will  look  after  the  Institute,  and  Ambert 
(his  nephew)  will  help  you  in  the  business  details."  Then  it  seemed 
as  though  he  saw  beyond  the  veil,  for  he  exclaimed :  "  This  is  my 


Within  the  Gates  553 

triumph;  this  is  my  coronation  day !  I  have  been  looking  forward  to 
it  for  years."  Then  his  face  lit  up,  and  he  said,  in  a  voice  of  joyful 
rapture :  "  Dwight !  Irene ! — I  see  the  children's  faces,"  referring  to 
the  two  little  grandchildren  God  had  taken  from  his  life  in  the  past 
year.  Then,  as  he  thought  he  was  losing  consciousness,  he  said, 
"  Give  my  love  to  them  all."  Turning  to  his  wife,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Mamma,  you  have  been  a  good  wife  to  me !  "  and  with  that  he  be- 
came unconscious. 

For  a  time  it  seemed  that  he  had  passed  on  into  the  unseen  world, 
but  slowly  he  revived,  under  the  effect  of  heart  stimulants,  and, 
suddenly  raising  himself  on  his  elbow,  exclaimed :  "  What  does  all 
this  mean  ?  What  are  you  all  doing  here?  "  He  was  told  that  he  had 
not  been  well,  and  immediately  it  all  seemed  to  be  clear  to  him,  and  he 
said: 

"  This  is  a  strange  thing.  I  have  been  beyond  the  gates  of  death 
and  to  the  very  portals  of  Heaven,  and  here  I  am  back  again.  It  is 
very  strange."  Again  he  talked  about  the  work  to  be  done,  assign- 
ing to  the  sons  the  Northfield  schools,  and  to  his  daughter  and  her 
husband  the  Chicago  Bible  Institute. 

Then,  in  answer  to  the  query  of  the  daughter,  "  But,  father,  what 
about  mother?"  he  replied,  "Oh,  she's  like  Eve,  the  mother  of  us  all," 
evidently  meaning  to  imply  that  she  was  to  mother  the  whole,  and  to 
be  to  all  the  interests  as  well  as  to  the  children  the  same  helpful  ad- 
viser and  balance  that  she  had  been  to  him  for  so  many  years. 

To  the  plea  of  his  daughter  that  he  should  not  leave  them,  he  said : 
"  I'm  not  going  to  throw  my  life  away.  I'll  stay  as  long  as  I  can,  but 
if  my  time  is  come,  I'm  ready." 

Then  a  new  thought  seemed  to  possess  him, and  he  exclaimed :  "I'm 
not  at  all  sure  but  that  God  may  perform  a  miracle  and  raise  me  up. 
I'm  going  to  get  up.  If  God  wants  to  heal  me  by  a  miracle  that  way,  all 
right ;  and  if  not,  I  can  meet  death  in  my  chair  as  well  as  here."  Then, 
turning  to  one  of  the  attendants  who  was  applying  warm  cloths,  he 
said,  "  Here,  take  those  away.  If  God  is  going  to  perform  a  miracle 


5  54  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

we  don't  want  them,  and  the  first  thing  I  suppose  we  should  do  would 
be  to  discharge  the  doctor."  He  did  not  insist  on  this,  however,  but 
was  determined  to  get  up  and  could  not  be  dissuaded.  He  then 
walked  across  the  room  to  an  easy-chair,  where  he  sat  down  for  a 
few  moments.  A  second  sinking  turn  left  him  exhausted,  and  he  was 
willing  to  return  to  bed,  where  he  remained,  quietly  awaiting  the  end, 
for  an  hour.  To  the  very  last  he  was  thinking  of  those  about  him  and 
considering  them.  Turning  to  his  wife,  only  a  little  while  before  he 
passed  away,  he  said :  "  This  is  hard  on  you,  Mother,  and  I'm  sorry  to 
distress  you  in  this  way.  It  is  hard  to  be  kept  in  such  anxiety."  The 
last  time  the  doctor  approached  to  administer  the  hypodermic  injec- 
tion of  nitro-glycerin  he  looked  at  him  in  a  questioning  and  undecided 
way  and  said  in  a  perfectly  natural  voice,  "  Doctor,  I  don't  know 
about  this.  Do  you  think  it  best?  It  is  only  keeping  the  family 
in  anxiety." 

In  a  few  moments  more  another  sinking  turn  came,  and  from  it 
he  awoke  in  the  presence  of  Him  whom  he  loved  and  served  so  long 
and  devotedly.  It  was  not  like  death,  for  he  "  fell  on  sleep  "  quietly 
and  peacefully. 

Of  his  awaking  consciousness  beyond  the  thin  veil  which  separates 
the  seen  from  the  unseen  we  may  not  know  just  now,  but  of  the  wel- 
come in  that  City  for  which  at  times  he  felt  such  a  strange  homesick- 
ness we  may  be  sure.  Did  he  not  himself  testify  to  having  been 
"  within  the  gates  "  and  "  beyond  the  portals,"  where  he  had  caught  a 
glimpse  of  child  faces  "  loved  long  since  and  lost  awhile  "  ?  During 
his  earthly  pilgrimage  it  had  not  been  given  him  to  sing  the  sweet 
and  joyful  melodies  that  filled  his  soul,  but  at  that  Christmastide  he 
joined  in  Heaven's  glorious  anthems  of  praise  to  Him  whose  love 
had  been  a  consuming  fire  and  whom  he  had  served  with  such  devo- 
tion when  on  earth. 

Of  that  larger  life  he  had  spoken  in  no  uncertain  way. 

"  Some  day  you  will  read  in  the  papers  that  D.  L.  Moody,  of  East 
Northfield,  is  dead,"  he  had  said.  "  Don't  you  believe  a  word  of  it ! 


Within  the  Gates  555 

At  that  moment  I  shall  be  more  alive  than  I  am  now.  I  shall  have 
gone  up  higher,  that  is  all — out  of  this  old  clay  tenement  into  a  house 
that  is  immortal;  a  body  that  death  cannot  touch,  that  sin  cannot 
taint,  a  body  fashioned  like  unto  His  glorious  body.  I  was  born  of 
the  flesh  in  1837.  I  was  born  of  the  Spirit  in  1856.  That  which  is 
born  of  the  flesh  may  die.  That  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  will  live 
forever." 


CHAPTER  XLVI 
AT  REST  ON  ROUND  TOP 

IN  seeming  accord  with  Mr.  Moody's  feelings  that  "  everything 
before  a  true  believer  is  glorious,"  even  Nature  assumed  no  sign 
of  mourning  on  the  day  that  his  earthly  tabernacle  was  laid  to 
rest  on  Round  Top.  December  26th  was  the  date  fixed  for  the 
funeral  services,  and,  as  some  one  expressed  it,  it  was  "  one  of  the 
Lord's  own  days."  The  winter's  first  snow  rested  on  the  distant 
hills  of  southern  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  while  a  clear  sky 
and  a  frosty  atmosphere  combined  to  make  it  a  day  of  unusual  bright- 
ness. During  the  morning  friends  arrived  from  all  directions,  repre- 
senting every  phase  of  society  and  every  shade  of  theological  belief. 

Mr.  Moody's  wishes  were  studiously  observed  with  respect  to  any 
outward  appearance  of  emblems  of  mourning.  About  the  home 
everything  was,  apparently,  as  usual.  No  crape  was  seen  on  the 
door,  and  the  window  blinds  were  all  open.  In  the  chamber  where 
he  lay  "  asleep  in  Jesus  "  there  was  only  a  sense  of  quiet  repose  in 
the  loved  form,  and  looking  upon  him  as  he  lay  upon  the  couch  one 
would  have  thought  that  he  was  taking  one  of  those  short  naps  with 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  refresh  himself  before  conducting  a 
service. 

After  a  brief  service  at  the  house,  conducted  by  Dr.  C.  I.  Scofield, 
pastor  of  the  Northfield  Church,  and  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Torrey,  pastor  of 
the  Chicago  Avenue  Church,  Chicago,  the  casket  was  placed  upon  a 
bier,  and  carried  by  thirty-two  Mount  Hermon  students  to  the  Con- 
gregational Church,  half  a  mile  away. 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  559 

Four  months  before,  Mr.  Moody  had  planned  the  funeral  services 
of  his  grandchild  Irene.  "  Just  this  once  let  me  have  my  own  way," 
he  had  pleaded,  and  every  one  had  gladly  fallen  in  with  his  simple 
arrangements.  As  the  family  and  friends  followed  the  white  casket 
borne  on  a  bier  by  twelve  Mount  Hermon  students,  the  special  friends 
of  the  little  one,  Mr.  Moody  had  remarked  to  his  5  on,  "  That  is  just 
as  I  would  want  it.  No  hearse  and  no  mourning,  but  just  let  Mount 
Hermon  boys  bear  me  to  my  resting-place."  Little  was  it  thought 
that  in  so  short  a  time  that  wish  would  need  to  be  fulfilled. 

At  the  church  an  opportunity  was  given  to  look  for  the  last  time 
upon  the  one  whom  so  many  had  loved.  Among  all  the  saddened 
faces  his  alone  looked  untroubled.  The  form  lay  quietly  at  rest  wait- 
ing the  moment  when  Christ  should  change  it  into  one  "  like  unto 
His  own  glorious  body,"  while  he  himself,  the  soul  so  dearly  loved, 
was  "  absent  from  the  body  and  at  home  with  the  Lord." 

The  public  service  was  held  at  2.30  P.M.  Old  associates,  neigh- 
bors, and  relatives  had  come  from  far  and  near.  Simple  tributes  of 
love  and  joyous  notes  of  praise  were  offered  by  several  of  his  friends 
and  fellow-laborers. 

Dr.  Scofield  had  charge  of  the  servicae,  which  began  with  the 
singing  of  "  Immanuel's  Land,"  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  favorite  hymns. 
At  the  close  of  the  service  the  Mount  Hermon  Quartet,  always  a 
great  favorite  with  him,  sang  the  following  lines  by  Major  Whittle, 
set  to  music  by  his  daughter,  Mr.  Moody's  daughter-in-law : 

"  A  lamp  in  the  night,  a  song  in  time  of  sorrow, 
A  great  glad  hope  which  faith  can  ever  borrow  ; 
To  gild  the  passing  day  with  the  glory  of  the  morrow 
Is  the  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 

"  Blessed  hope,  blessed  hope, 
Blessed  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  ! 

How  the  aching  heart  it  cheers, 

How  it  glistens  thro*  our  tears, 
Blessed  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  ! 


560  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

••  A  star  in  the  sky,  a  beacon  bright  to  guide  us, 
An  anchor  sure  to  hold  when  storms  betide  us, 
A  refuge  for  the  soul,  where  in  quiet  we  may  hide  us, 
Is  the  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 

-•«  A  word  from  the  One  to  all  our  hearts  the  dearest, 
A  i  arting  word  to  make  Him,  aye,  the  nearest  ; 
Of  all  His  precious  words  the  sweetest,  brightest,  clearest, 
Is  the  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  !  " 

The  keynote  of  the  service  was  one  of  exultant  victory.  Personal 
bereavement  and  selfish  sorrow  seemed  drowned  in  the  consciousness 
of  his  glad  triumph  and  joyous  welcome  by  the  One  he  had  served  so 
devotedly.  There  were  in  all  the  messages  a  word  of  inspiration  and 
a  call  to  greater  service,  so  that  even  in  his  death  he  still  published  the 
message  of  his  life :  Service  for  the  Master. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  exercises  a  striking  scene  occurred.  Up 
to  this  moment  no  sunshine  had  entered  the  church,  the  afternoon 
being  slightly  clouded.  Suddenly  a  single  ray  shone  through  the 
upper  window  at  the  extreme  end,  opposite  the  platform.  It  fell 
upon  the  side  and  close  to  the  head  of  the  casket.  Then  moving 
slowly  as  the  sun  descended,  as  though  searching  for  its  object,  it 
fell  full  upon  the  exposed  face — a  halo  of  light  from  Heaven — suf- 
fusing the  familiar  and  natural  features  with  a  brightness  in  keeping 
with  the  glad  heart  that  had  throbbed  in  life.  The  sunshine  touched 
no  other  object;  the  face  only  was  illumined,  and  then,  as  though  its 
mission  had  been  accomplished,  its  token  from  the  upper  world  as- 
sured, the  sun  set  behind  the  distant  hill. 

Dr.  Scofield  gave  a  short  address,  saying :  "  '  We  know :  we  are  al- 
ways confident.'  That  is  the  Christian's  attitude  toward  the  mys- 
tery of  death.  In  this  triumphant  assurance  Dwight  L.  Moody  lived, 
and  at  high  noon  last  Friday  he  died.  We  are  not  met,  dear  friends, 
to  mourn  a  defeat,  but  to  celebrate  a  triumph.  He  '  walked  with 
God  and  he  was  not, for  God  took  him'  Here  was  no  anti-climax. 
This  strenuous  soul  was  not  appointed  to  the  slow  decay  of  his 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  561 

powers.  There  in  the  West,  in  the  presence  of  great  audiences  of 
twelve  thousand  of  his  fellowmen,  God  spoke  to  him  to  lay  down  all 
that  work  and  come  home.  He  would  have  planned  it  so.  So  much 
strength  was  given  as  sufficed  for  his  journey  back  to  his  beloved 
Northfield.  So  much  additional  strength  as  kept  him  hovering  be- 
tween two  worlds,  until  our  hearts  could  be  braced  for  his  home- 
going,  and  then  he  fell  on  sleep. 

"  This  is  not  the  place,  nor  am  I  the  man,  to  present  a  study  of  the 
life  and  character  of  Dwight  L.  Moody.  No  one  will  ever  question 
that  we  are  laying  to-day  in  the  kindly  bosom  of  earth  the  mortal 
body  of  a  great  man.  Whether  we  measure  greatness  by  quality  of 
character  or  by  qualities  of  intellect  or  by  things  accomplished, 
Dwight  L.  Moody  must  be  accounted  great. 

"  The  basis  of  Mr.  Moody's  character  was  sincerity.  He  had  an 
inveterate  aversion  to  all  forms  of  sham,  unreality,  and  pretence. 
Most  of  all  did  he  detest  religious  pretence  or  cant.  Along  with  the 
fundamental  quality  he  cherished  a  great  love  of  righteousness.  His 
first  question  concerning  any  proposed  action  was:  'Is  it  right?' 
But  these  two  qualities,  necessarily  at  the  bottom  of  all  noble  char- 
acter, were  in  him  suffused  and  transfigured  by  divine  grace.  Besides 
all  this,  he  was,  in  a  wonderful  degree,  brave,  magnanimous,  and 
unselfish. 

"  Doubtless  this  unlettered  New  England  country  boy  became 
what  he  was  by  the  grace  of  God.  The  secrets  of  Dwight  L.  Moody's 
power  were :  First,  in  a  definite  experience  of  Christ's  saving  grace. 
He  had  passed  out  of  death  into  life,  and  he  knew  it.  Secondly,  he 
believed  in  the  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures.  The  Bible  was  to 
him  the  voice  of  God,  and  he  made  it  resound  as  such  in  the  con- 
sciences of  men.  Thirdly,  he  was  baptized  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
he  knew  it.  It  was  to  him  as  definite  an  experience  as  his  conversion. 
Fourthly,  he  was  a  man  of  prayer.  He  believed  in  a  mighty  and  un- 
fettered God.  Fifthly,  he  believed  in  works,  in  ceaseless  effort,  in  wise 
provision,  in  the  power  of  organization,  of  publicity.  He  expected 


562  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  supernatural  to  work,  but  through  the  natural.  He  hitched  his 
wagon  to  a  star,  but  he  always  kept  the  wheels  on  the  ground  and 
the  axles  well  oiled. 

"  I  like  to  think  of  Dwight  L.  Moody  in  Heaven.  I  like  to  think 
of  him  with  his  Lord  and  with  Elijah,  Daniel,  Paul,  Augustine, 
Luther,  Wesley,  and  Finney.  Farewell  for  a  little  time,  great  heart. 
May  a  double  portion  of  the  Spirit  be  vouchsafed  to  us  who  remain." 

President  H.  G.  Western,  of  the  Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  fol- 
lowed Dr.  Scofield.  In  closing  a  beautiful  tribute  to  his  friend  he 
said : 

"  I  count  as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  my  life  my  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Moody,  the  influence  he  has  had  on  me,  and  the  privi- 
lege of  studying  God's  methods  in  his  life  and  work.  He  was  the 
greatest  religious  character  of  this  century.  We  instinctively  attrib- 
ute the  success  of  every  man  who  is  eminent  in  attracting  and  influ- 
encing others  to  some  special  natural  endowment,  to  education  and 
training,  or  to  a  peculiar  magnetic  personality.  Mr.  Moody  had  none 
of  these,  yet  no  man  has  surpassed  him  in  his  power  of  attraction  and 
influence,  both  over  masses  of  men  and  over  individuals  of  strong 
character,  of  executive  ability,  of  great  resources,  whom  he  fastened 
to  himself  with  hooks  of  steel,  making  them  not  only  his  lifelong 
friends,  but  his  constant  partners  in  all  his  good  works.  This  mar- 
vellous power,  wielded  for  so  man}-  years,  undiminished  to  the  end, 
we  cannot  explain  by  any  one  peculiar  natural  gift.  He  had  none  of 
them. 

"  What  had  he?  He  had  life.  I  do  not  mean  the  manner  of  living, 
but  what  the  Bible  means  by  this  word — what  Christ  means  when  He 
declares  the  purpose  of  His  coming : '  I  am  come  that  they  might  have 
life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly.'  God  gave  him 
life,  made  him  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature ;  and  from  the  moment 
he  received  it  the  development,  growth,  and  manifestation  of  that  life 
became  the  whole  object  of  his  existence.  To  it  he  devoted  every 
power  of  his  being,  and  that  devotion  kindled  into  intensest  activ- 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  563 

ity  every  latent  energy  of  his  nature,  making  him  the  complete, 
rounded,  many-sided  man  that  he  was,  of  instinctive  judgment  and 
tact,  and  gave  him  his  wonderful  mastery  of  man. 

"  Then  he  nourished  and  strengthened  that  life  by  devotion  to 
God's  Word.  He  prized  it  as  the  treasure  by  which  his  life  could  be 
enriched.  He  realized  to  the  full  Christ's  words :  '  Man  shall  not  live 
by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God. '  That  Word  he  hid  in  his  heart,  as  the  seed  is  hidden  in  the 
earth  that  it  may  swell  and  grow.  He  hid  it  there,  ready  for  use  on 
every  occasion  and  in  every  emergency.  It  was  sweeter  to  him  than 
honey  and  the  honeycomb.  His  mind  and  heart  were  given  to  the 
Word  of  God. 

"  But  his  life,  like  that  of  Christ's,  was  for  others.  He  did  not 
search  the  Bible  to  add  to  his  knowledge,  but  to,  save  men  from  sin. 
His  first  and  dominant  purpose  was  to  have  every  man  receive  that 
life  of  which  he  had  been  made  a  partaker ;  to  this  his  sermons  were 
devoted;  he  counted  everything  but  loss  unless  this  were  attained, 
and  he  coveted  for  all  the  means  of  developing  and  utilizing  that  life. 
The  sight  of  poor  boys  and  girls  deprived  of  the  means  of  education 
would  not  let  him  rest  until  he  had  provided  some  method  by  which 
their  lives  should  be  enriched  and  made  more  in  accordance  with 
Heaven's  designs  for  them.  He  dotted  this  fair  plain  with  houses 
that  young  men  and  young  women  should  have  the  means  of  so  en- 
larging their  lives  that  they  might  be  useful  to  their  fellows.  His 
work  was  in  the  line  of  Christ's  miracles,  which  never  enriched  the 
object  with  bounties  of  land  or  money  or  resources,  but  always  gave 
power  to  life,  making  the  dead  eye  to  see,  touching  the  dead  tongue, 
the  dead  ear,  the  dead  limb,  and  in  His  highest  miracles  bringing  the 
dead  to  life. 

"  This  likeness  to  Chfist,  this  knowing  the  power  of  His  resurrec- 
tion, this  conformity  to  His  death,  was  the  reason  for  every  man's  giv- 
ing him  credit  for  the  utmost  sincerity.  It  was  the  reason  men  listened 
to  him  and  believed  him,  and  were  influenced  by  him  in  the  mass 


564  The  Lite  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

and  as  individuals.  They  saw  not  the  man,  but  the  truth  he  spoke. 
He  had  that  wonderful  egotism  by  which  he  could  constantly  speak 
of  himself  and  yet  never  draw  attention  to  himself.  Men  saw  in  all 
that  he  was  and  did  the  truth  as  it  was  in  Jesus. 

"  And  so  because  Mr.  Moody  could  in  his  measure  use  those  great 
words  of  Christ,  '  /  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they 
might  have  it  more  abundantly'  because  these  words  expressed  his 
whole  being,  I  loved  and  honored  and  valued  him,  and  because  of 
what  he  was,  and,  therefore,  of  what  he  did,  I  had  rather  be  Dwight 
Moody  dead,  lying  there  in  his  coffin,  than  any  living  man  on  earth." 

Bishop  W.  F.  Mallalieu,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  suc- 
ceeded Dr.  Weston,  and  spoke  as  follows : 

"  '  Servant  of  God,  well  done  ; 

Thy  glorious  warfare's  past ; 
The  battle's  fought,  the  race  is  won, 
And  thou  art  crowned  at  last.' 

•'  I  first  met  and  became  acquainted  with  him  whose  death  we 
mourn,  in  London,  in  the  summer. of  1875.  From  that  day  when  he 
moved  the  masses  of  the  world's  metropolis  to  the  hour  when  he 
answered  the  call  of  God  to  come  up  higher  I  have  known  him, 
esteemed  him,  and  loved  him.  Surely  we  may  say,  and  the  world 
will  indorse  the  affirmation,  that  in  his  death  one  of  the  truest,  brav- 
est, purest,  and  most  influential  men  of  this  wonderful  nineteenth 
century  has  passed  to  his  rest  and  his  reward.  With  feelings  of  un- 
speakable loss  and  desolation  we  gather  about  the  casket  that  con- 
tains all  that  was  mortal  of  Dwight  L.  Moody.  And  yet  a  mighty 
uplift  and  inspiration  must  come  to  each  one  of  us  as  we  think  of  his 
character  and  his  achievements,  for  he  was 

"  '  One  who  never  turned  his  back,  but  marched  breast  forward  ; 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break, 
Never  dreamed,  though  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would  triumph.' 

"  In  bone  and  brawn  and  brain  he  was  a  typical  New  Englander. 
He  was  descended  from  the  choicest  New  England  stock;  he  was  born 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  565 

of  a  New  England  mother,  and  from  his  earliest  life  he  breathed 
the  free  air  of  his  native  hills,  and  was  carefully  nurtured  in  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  holy  traditions  and  histories  of  the 
glorious  past.  It  was  to  be  expected  of  him  that  he  would  become 
a  Christian  of  pronounced  characteristics,  for  he  consecrated  him- 
self thoroughly,  completely,  and  irrevocably  to  the  service  of  God  and 
humanity.  The  heart  of  no  disciple  of  the  Master  ever  beat  with 
more  genuine,  sympathetic,  and  utterly  unselfish  loyalty  than  did  the 
great,  generous,  loving  heart  of  our  friend. 

"  Because  he  held  fast  to  the  absolute  truth  of  the  Bible,  and  un- 
equivocally and  intensely  believed  it  to  be  the  unerring  Word  of  God ; 
because  he  preached  the  Gospel  rather  than  talked  about  the  Gospel; 
because  he  used  his  mother-tongue,  the  terse,  clear,  ringing,  straight- 
forward Saxon ;  because  he  had  the  profoundest  sense  of  brother- 
hood with  all  poor,  unfortunate,  and  even  outcast  people;  because  he 
was  unaffectedly  tender  and  patient  with  the  weak  and  the  sinful; 
because  he  hated  evil  as  thoroughly  as  he  loved  goodness;  because 
he  knew  right  well  how  to  lead  penitent  souls  to  the  Saviour ;  because 
he  had  the  happy  art  of  arousing  Christian  people  to  a  vivid  sense 
of  their  obligations  and  inciting  them  to  the  performance  of  their 
duties ;  because  he  had  in  his  own  soul  a  conscious,  joyous  experience 
of  personal  salvation,  the  people  flocked  to  his  services,  they  heard 
him  gladly,  they  were  led  to  Christ;  and  he  came  to  be  prized  and 
honored  by  all  denominations,  so  that  to-day  all  Protestantism  recog- 
nizes the  fact  that  he  was  God's  servant,  an  ambassador  of  Christ,  and 
indeed  a  chosen  vessel  to  bear  the  name  of  Jesus  to  the  nations.  We 
shall  not  again  behold  his  manly  and  vigorous  form,  hear  his  thrilling 
voice,  or  be  moved  by  his  consecrated  personality,  but  if  we  are  true 
and  faithful  to  our  Lord,  we  shall  see  him  in  glory;  for  already  he 
walks  the  streets  of  the  Heavenly  City,  he  mingles  in  the  songs  of  the 
innumerable  company  of  white-robed  saints,  sees  the  King  in  His 
beauty,  and  waits  our  coming.  May  God  grant  that  in  due  time  we 
may  meet  him  over  yonder." 


5  66  The  Life  of  D wight  L.  Moody 

The  Rev.  R.  A.  Torrey  said  in  his  address : 

"  God  has  laid  two  thoughts  upon  my  heart  for  this  hour.  The 
first  is  found  in  the  words  of  Paul  in  I  Corinthians,  xv.  10:  'By  the 
grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am.1  God  has  wonderfully  magnified  His 
love  and  grace  in  D.  L.  Moody.  God  was  magnified  in  his  birth.  The 
babe  that  was  born  sixty-two  years  ago  on  yonder  hill,  with  all  the 
possibilities  that  were  wrapped  up  in  him,  was  God's  gift  to  the  world. 
How  much  that  gift  meant  to  the  world !  How  the  world  has  been 
blessed  and  benefited  by  it  we  shall  never  know  this  side  the  com- 
ing of  our  Lord.  God's  grace  was  magnified  in  his  conversion.  He 
was  born  in  sin,  as  we  all  are,  but  God,  by  His  providence,  and  by  the 
power  of  His  Word,  by  the  regenerating  power  of  His  Holy  Spirit, 
made  him  the  mighty  man  of  God  that  he  became.  How  much  the 
conversion  of  that  boy  in  Boston  forty-four  years  ago  meant  to  the 
world  no  man  can  tell,  but  it  was  all  God's  grace  that  did  it.  God's 
love  and  grace  were  magnified  again  in  the  development  of  that 
character  that  has  made  him  so  loved  and  honored  in  all  lands  to-day. 
He  had  a  strength  and  beauty  of  character  possessed  by  few  sons  of 
men;  but  it  was  all  from  God.  To  God  alone  it  was  due  that  he 
differed  from  other  men. 

"  The  other  thought  is  found  in  Joshua,  i.  2 :  '  Moses  My  servant  is 
dead;  now  therefore  arise,  go  over  this  Jordan,  thou,  and  all  this  peo- 
ple, unto  the  land  which  I  do  give  to  them.''  The  death  of  Mr. 
Moody  is  a  call  to  go  forward — a  call  to  his  children,  to  his  associates, 
to  ministers  of  the  Word  everywhere,  to  the  whole  Church.  '  Our 
leader  has  fallen;  let  us  give  up  the  work,'  some  would  say.  Not  for 
a  minute.  Listen  to  what  God  says:  '  Your  leader  is  fallen;  move 
forward.  Moses  My  servant  is  dead;  therefore  arise,  go  in  and 
possess  the  land.  Be  strong  and  of  good  courage,  be  not  afraid.  As 
I  was  with  Moody,  so  I  will  be  with  thee.  I  will  not  fail  thee  nor  for- 
sake thee.' 

"  The  unanimity  upon  this  point  of  all  those  who  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  is  remarkable.  The  great  institutions  he  has  estab- 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  567 

lished  at  Northfield,  at  Mount  Hermon,  at  Chicago,  and  the  work 
they  represent,  must  be  pushed  to  the  front  as  never  before. 

"  Mr.  Moody  himself  said,  when  he  felt  the  call  of  death  at  Kansas 
City,  '  I  know  how  much  better  it  would  be  for  me  to  go;  but  we  are 
on  the  verge  of  a  great  revival  like  that  of  1857,  and  I  want  to  have 
a  hand  in  it.'  He  will  have  a  mighty  hand  in  it.  His  death,  with  the 
triumphal  scenes  that  surround  it,  are  part  of  God's  way  of  answering 
the  prayers  for  a  revival  that  have  been  so  long  ascending  in  our 
land." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson  spoke  next,  saying: 

"  When  a  great  tree  falls  you  know  its  greatness  not  only  by  its 
branches,  but  by  its  roots,  by  how  much  soil  it  tore  up  as  it  fell.  I 
know  of  no  other  man  who,  falling  in  this  century,  has  uprooted  a 
wider  tract  than  this  man  who  has  just  left  us. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  the  four  deaths  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century — of  Charles  H.  Spurgeon,  of  London;  A.  J.  Gordon,  of 
Boston ;  Catherine  Booth,  mother  of  the  Salvation  Army,  and  George 
Miiller,  of  Bristol,  England,  not  one  of  whom  stirred  the  world  more 
widely  than  Dvvight  L.  Moody. 

"  Now,  I  think  we  ought  to  be  very  careful  of  what  we  say  here. 
There  is  a  temptation  to  say  more  than  ought  to  be  said,  and  we 
should  be  careful  to  speak  as  in  the  presence  of  God.  This  is  a  time 
to  glorify  God. 

"  Dvvight  L.  Moody  was  a  great  man,  but  his  greatness  was  the 
genius  of  goodness.  That  man,  when  he  entered  the  church  in  1856  in 
Boston,  after  ten  months  of  probation,  had  been  held  at  arm's  length 
all  that  time  because  it  was  feared  that  he  was  not  a  sound  believer. 
The  man  the  church  held  out  at  arm's  length  has  become  the  preacher 
of  preachers,  the  teacher  of  teachers,  the  evangelist  of  evangelists. 

"  When,  in  1858,  he  decided  to  give  God  all  his  time,  he  gave  out 
the  key  to  his  future.  I  say  everything  D.  L.  Moody  has  touched 
has  been  a  success,  whether  as  an  evangelist  or  as  an  educator  and 
organizer.  Do  you  know  that,  with  careful  reckoning,  it  has  been 


568  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

estimated  that  he  has  reached  one  hundred  million  people  in  the 
aggregate,  by  his  voice  and  pen,  since  he  first  became  a  Christian? 
Take  into  consideration  all  the  people  his  books  have  reached  and 
the  languages  into  which  they  have  been  translated;  look  beyond 
his  evangelistic  work  to  the  work  of  education— the  schools,  the 
Chicago  Bible  Institute,  and  the  Training  School  here.  Scores  of 
people  in  the  world  owe  their  spiritual  life  and  power  to  Dwight  L. 
Moody  as  the  means  of  their  consecration. 

"  I  want  to  say  a  word  of  Mr.  Moody's  entrance  into  Heaven. 
When  he  entered  into  Heaven  there  must  have  been  an  unusual  re- 
joicing. I  ask  you  whether  you  can  think  of  any  other  man  of  the  last 
half  century  whose  coming  so  many  souls  would  have  welcomed  at 
the  gates  of  Heaven  ?  It  was  a  triumphal  entrance  into  glory. 

"  No  man  who  has  been  associated  with  him  in  Christian  work  has 
not  seen  that  there  is  but  one  way  to  live,  and  that  way,  to  live  wholly 
for  God.  The  thing  that  D.  L.  Moody  stood  for,  and  will  stand  for, 
through  centuries  to  come,  was  his  living  only  for  God.  He  made 
mistakes,  no  doubt,  and  if  any  of  us  is  without  sin  in  this  respect,  we 
may  cast  a  stone  at  him,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  his  mistakes  were  the 
mistakes  of  a  stream  that  overflowed  its  banks.  It  is  a  great  deal  bet- 
ter to  be  full  and  overflowing  than  to  be  empty  and  have  nothing  to 
overflow  with." 

John  Wanamaker,  of  Philadelphia,  said  : 

"  On  the  call  of  the  moment  the  first  thought  I  would  express  is 
that  Mr.  Moody's  life  has  given  to  us  a  better  idea  of  what  the  man 
Christ  Jesus  was.  By  this  man's  living  among  men  we  have  had 
given  to  us  a  splendid  commentary  on  the  Holy  Scriptures.  His  life 
sketches  for  us  speaking  likenesses  of  Paul  and  Nehemiah.  There 
was  much  in  Mr.  Moody  like  Oliver  Cromwell.  Very  surely  we  may 
call  Mr.  Moody  the  Stonewall  Jackson  of  this  century  of  the  Church 
of  God. 

"  Sturdy  and  strong  and  aggressive  he  was,  but  was  there  anything 
more  beautiful  in  his  character  than  his  gentleness  and  kindness? 


At  Rest  on  Round  Top  569 

Each  of  us  who  knew  him  was  taken  into  his  family  and  treated  as 
his  kin. 

"  Not  only  is  it  that  one  hundred  millions  have  heard  the  Gospel 
from  his  lips,  but  with  the  Northfield  buildings,  with  buildings  for 
Church  and  Christian  Associations,  and  schools  erected  through  his 
revival  work,  the  whole  nation  has  been  blessed.  The  great  things 
that  have  grown  out  of  his  energy  and  untiring  efforts  make  many 
of  our  lives  look  small  to-day  in  comparison  with  his. 

"  Reviewing  his  life  from  the  time  I  knew  him  first,  about  1859,  I 
can  call  to  mind  many  who,  during  these  forty  years,  have  been  dis- 
tinguished in  the  business  world,  in  railroad  enterprises,  and  in  public 
life,  but  I  do  not  know  of  one  who  has  made  so  much  of  his  life  or 
who  would  not  say,  if  he  were  to  speak,  that  he  would  be  glad  if  he  had 
chosen  the  course  that  Mr.  Moody  took  to  make  his  life  potential 
for  good.  He  has  done  the  best  business  of  us  all.  God's  work 
looms  up  larger  than  ever  to  us  to-day. 

"  It  is  like  a  vision  to  me  to  recall  my  last  interview  with  Mr. 
Moody,  about  the  loth  of  November  last,  when,  in  answer  to  his 
telegram,  I  met  him  in  the  Philadelphia  railroad  station  on  his  way 
lo  Kansas  City.  He  could  only  stop  over  a  train,  and  his  purpose 
was  to  ascertain  the  exact  situation  of  his  prospective  winter  work  at 
Philadelphia.  We  talked  for  nearly  an  hour  upon  the  outlook,  and  I 
went  to  my  home  to  tell  my  family  that  Mr.  Moody  looked  to  me  that 
night  as  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Hosea  must  have  looked,  and  I  told 
them,  as  I  now  tell  you,  that  his  eyes  were  full  of  tears  and  that  he 
sighed  again  and  again,  saying, '  If  only  it  would  please  God  to  let  me 
get  hold  of  this  city  by  a  winter  of  meetings !  I  should  like  to  do  it 
before  I  die,  and  possibly  from  Philadelphia  the  influence  would  go 
out  to  other  large  cities.'  Somehow  my  heart  grew  heavier  as  he 
talked.  I  witnessed  what  seemed  to  me  like  agony  of  soul  in  his  care 
for  the  Church  at  large  and  his  anxietyfor  a  revival.  It  was  with  this 
burden  that  he  undertook  a  railway  journey  for  a  thousand  miles  of 
fatiguing  travel,  and  under  this  burden  he  has  staggered  to  the  grave. 


570  The  Life  of  Dvvight  L.  Moody 

To  us  of  like  years,  let  me  say  the  sixties  are  fast  quitting  work,  and 
we  may  well  hasten  to  finish  what  we  have  yet  to  do." 

After  the  public  service  the  loved  form  was  carried  again  by  the 
Mount  Hermon  students  to  Round  Top,  the  Olivet  of  Northfield, 
just  at  the  crown  of  the  little  hill,  where  many  of  the  best  meetings 
are  held  every  year. 

Those  who  were  gathered  at  the  grave  sang,  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  my 
soul."  Dr.  Torrey  offered  prayer,  and  Dr.  Scofield  pronounced  the 
benediction,  and  the  loved  form  was  laid  away  till  the  day  break  and 
death  and  sorrow  shall  be  no  more. 

Mr.  Moody  hoped  that  the  Lord  would  return  while  he  was  living. 
As  he  was  walking  one  evening  towards  the  Auditorium  with  a  friend, 
he  sat  down  on  the  grass  of  Round  Top  to  rest.  Looking  out  over 
the  beautiful  summer  landscape  spread  before  them,  gilded  with  the 
glory  of  the  westering  sun,  he  said : 

"  I  should  like  to  be  here  when  Christ  comes  back !  " 

His  longing  was  not  gratified  during  his  life,  but  his  body  rests 
there,  awaiting  the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God. 

From  the  crest  of  the  hill  where  the  grave  was  made  one  may  see 
Mr.  Moody's  birthplace;  a  little  more  to  the  west,  his  own  home 
for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century;  about  as  far  to  the  north  the  Semi- 
nary buildings,  some  of  them  only  a  two-minute  walk;  the  Colpor- 
tage  building  not  far  away,  while  the  last  two  buildings  erected  at 
Mount  Hermon,  the  chapel  and  Overtoun  Hall,  four  miles  distant, 
appear  across  the  beautiful  Connecticut  Valley. 

Surely  he  "  started  some  streams  that  will  flow  on  forever  "  !  He 
lies  in  the  very  midst  of  them,  a  constant  inspiration  to  those  he  left 
behind  to  carry  on  his  work. 


CHAPTER    XLVII 
MEMORIAL  SERVICES 

MR.  MOODY'S  departure  from  this  earthly  life  brought  ex> 
pressions  of  personal  sorrow  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
For  days  and  weeks  telegrams,  cables,  letters,  and  copies  of 
resolutions  from  Christian  organizations  were  received  from  every 
part  of  America  and  from  distant  lands.  All  united,  without  regard 
for  any  social  distinction,  in  testifying  to  their  love  and  admiration 
for  this  humble  servant  of  God. 

In  many  of  the  leading  cities  in  America  and  Great  Britain  memo- 
rial services  were  held,  in  which  his  former  associates  spoke  of  the 
result  of  the  missions  which  he  had  conducted.  In  New  York  City 
two  large  meetings  were  held,  while  Brooklyn,  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  Washington,  and  San  Francisco  showed  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  life-long  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  church  by  gatherings 
representing  all  denominations.  Then  came  the  news  of  similar 
gatherings  in  London — one  at  Exeter  Hall,  another  at  St.  James' 
Hall.  Others  were  held  in  Liverpool,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow;  and 
after  these  came  the  echoes  of  meetings  in  Japan  and  other  foreign 
lands. 

Perhaps  nothing  so  displayed  the  catholic  nature  of  Mr.  Moody's 
work  as  these  assemblages.  At  the  services  in  London  tributes  were 
paid  to  his  memory  by  the  Revs.  F.  B.  Meyer,  Guinness  Rogers, 
Munro  Gibson,  Hugh  Price  Hughes,  H.  W.  Webb-Peploe,  and  by 
Lord  Kinnaird,  and  in  America  equally  representative  speakers  took 
part. 


572  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

In  Boston  Tremont  Temple  was  filled.  Clergymen  of  all  denomi- 
nations crowded  the  platform,  and  when  the  choir  that  had  so  often 
assisted  Mr.  Moody  in  his  meetings  in  that  hall  sang  "  Eye  hath  not 
seen  "  it  did  not  require  much  imagination  to  think  of  it  as  one  of 
Moody's  meetings  of  former  years.  Henry  M.  Moore,  for  thirty 
years  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  most  intimate  friends  and  most  valued 
helpers,  presided,  and  addresses  were  made  by  Bishop  W.  F.  Malla- 
lieu,  the  Rev.  Drs.  L.  B.  Bates,  A.  H.  Plumb,  George  C.  Lorimer, 
and  H.  I.  White  and  John  Willis  Baer.  Dr.  Joseph  Cook  ad- 
dressed another  memorial  meeting  in  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 
about  the  same  time,  and  spoke  with  his  old-time  force. 

In  Brooklyn,  where  Mr.  Moody  had  preached  just  before  going  to 
Kansas  City,  other  services  were  held,  in  which  Drs.  J.  F.  Carson, 
Theodore  Cuyler,  David  Gregg,  A.  C.  Dixon,  A.  T.  Pierson,  and 
Messrs.  Edgar  W.  Hawley  and  Ira  D.  Sankey  were  among  the 
speakers.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  his  death,  at  the  Plymouth 
Church  prayer-meeting,  the  pastor,  Dr.  N.  D.  Hillis,  and  the  former 
pastor,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  reviewed  his  life-work.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  Dr.  Hillis  delivered  a  sermon  in  which  he  spoke  of 
him  as  "  the  last  of  the  great  group  " — Spurgeon,  Brooks,  Beecher, 
and  Moody. 

Of  the  memorial  services  held  at  colleges  and  universities,  the  one 
at  Yale  University,  at  which  Prof.  George  P.  Fisher,  of  the  Yale 
Divinity  School,  several  local  clergymen,  and  Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey 
took  part,  was  of  special  interest. 

In  New  York  City  one  of  the  meetings  was  presided  over  by  Mr. 
William  E.  Dodge.  In  speaking  of  his  friend,  whom  he  had  known 
and  loved  for  forty  years,  Mr.  Dodge  said : 

"In  the  whole  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  very  few  have 
touched  so  many  hearts  and  influenced  so  many  lives  as  the  dear 
friend  whom  we  come  to  thank  God  for  to-day.  I  am  sure  it  is  not 
exaggeration  to  say  that  if  all  those  whom  he  led  to  a  better  life 
were  to  be  gathered  together,  a  half  dozen  Kails  of  this  size  would 


Memorial  Services 


573 


not  hold  them.  We  are  now  met  to  thank  God  with  all  our  hearts 
for  so  glorious  and  fruitful  a  life  and  to  pray  that  that  influence  may 
be  continued.  He  is  not  dead ;  he  has  gone  to  the  better  life  above ; 
he  lives  with  us  to-day,  and  will  live  on  by  his  example  and  by  the  in- 
spiration that  came  from  his  words  and  -life. 

"  When  Mr.  Moody  became  a  Christian  it  was  like  the  conversion 
of  St.  Paul — clear,  decided,  and  for  all  his  life.  From  the  beginning 
Ms  theology  was  very  simple.  His  creed  was,  '  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  This  message  he 
repeated  with  all  his  courage  and  manliness  and  strength  through  all 
his  life,  and  so  earnestly  that  it  told  wherever  he  carried  it. 

"  Mr.  Moody's  early  work,  too,  was  very  simple.  I  remember, 
more  than  forty  years  ago,  going  with  him  one  Sunday  morning  to 
that  poor  little  school  there  in  Chicago,  and  I  then  got  sight  of  the 
peculiarity  of  the  man,  his  directness,  his  simplicity,  his  kindliness,  his 
humor,  and  the  manliness  of  his  character  that  won  those  children 
and  won  their  parents. 

"  There  were  two  early  influences  that  directly  affected  his  life  more 
than  any  others.  One  was  the  companionship  and  help  that  came 
to  him  from  the  brotherhood  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. All  his  life  he  acknowledged  that  as  having  formed  part  of  his 
character,  and  all  through  his  life  he  was  the  warm  friend  of  those 
associations,  helping  and  aiding  them  in  every  possible  way.  But  a 
stronger  and  greater  influence  was  his  beginning  in  the  study  of  the 
English  Bible. 

"  He  devoted  himself  to  an  intense  study  of  it,  and  from  it  got  two 
things:  In  the  first  place,  he  gained  that  clear-cut,  plain,  simple 
Anglo-Saxon  of  the  King  James  version,  that  gave  him  such  an  im- 
mense power  over  people  everywhere.  In  the  second  place,  he 
gained  an  arsenal  and  armament  of  promise  and  warning,  which  he 
used  through  all  his  life  with  such  magnificent  power.  There  was 
something  wonderful  about  his  simple  directness.  I  could  give  by 


574  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

the  hour  instances  of  the  clear  way  in  which  he  went  directly  to  a 

point. 

"  When  I  first  met  him  in  Chicago,  while  he  was  very  little  known, 
he  went  to  call  on  a  leading  merchant  and  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  in  that  city,  and  as  he  went  out  he  turned  and  said :  '  If  you  were 
only  a  Christian  man,  what  an  influence  you  would  have  in  this  grow- 
ing city ! '  That  man  had  been  a  communicant  of  a  church  for  years, 
and  it  had  never  been  known.  It  was  the  turning  point  in  his  life,  and 
he  was  Moody's  best  friend  and  helper  for  many  years.  There  was  a 
manliness  about  him,  an  earnestness,  a  hatred  of  cant  and  mere  relig- 
ious form.  He  had  the  most  intense  and  superb  enthusiasm  of  any 
man  I  ever  knew,  but  it  was  tempered  by  a  strong,  clear,  common 
sense.  And  then  he  had,  in  addition  to  that,  a  wonderful  intuitive 
knowledge  of  men.  We  know  very  much  of  his  wronderful  success  as 
a  preacher;  but  those  who  knew  him  best  and  were  nearest  to  him 
know  that  the  great  power  of  his  life  was  in  personal  conversation 
with  men. 

"  The  greatest  sermon  that  I  ever  heard  from  Mr.  Moody,  far  away 
the  strongest,  was  one  night  on  Madison  Avenue,  at  half-past  twelve, 
coming  up  from  one  of  those  great  meetings  at  Madison  Square. 
Three  or  four  of  us  were  together.  We  had  been  kept  at  the  hall 
by  those  who  insisted  upon  talking  and  getting  advice  and  help  from 
Mr.  Moody,  and  he  was  tired  by  a  long  day's  work.  Suddenly  a  gen- 
tleman came  up  from  behind  and  said,  '  Mr.  Moody,  how  shall  I  ac- 
cept Christ  and  change  my  life?  '  He  turned,  and,  standing  there  in 
the  moonlight,  on  the  corner  of  the  street,  in  a  few  short,  cleanly  cut, 
kindly,  earnest  words  put  the  whole  truth  so  clearly  to  that  man  that 
there  was  no  getting  away  from  it,  and  he  became  a  changed  man 
from  that  day. 

"  I  was  privileged  to  be  with  him  at  that  wonderful  series  of  ser- 
vices in  the  Haymarket  Theatre,  London,  the  most  wonderful  meet- 
ings that  I  have  ever  known;  and  what  struck  me  and  surprised  me 
was  the  number  of  educated  and  cultivated  people  who  came  there. 


Memorial  Services  575 

There  were  a  large  number  of  literary  men,  who  did  not  at  all  believe 
in  religion,  who  came  for  the  very  purpose  of  hearing  his  simple, 
clear-cut  English  phraseology,  which  is  so  little  used  nowadays.  His 
work  in  the  universities  was  simply  wonderful.  When  he  went  to 
Oxford  and  Cambridge,  they  determined  to  run  him  out  of  town. 
They  did  not  want  that  kind  of  talk  there.  But  his  manliness  and 
straightforwardness  and  courage  conquered  them,  and  the  number 
of  young  men  whose  lives  were  changed,  and  who  are  now  a  power 
for  good  all  over  the  world,  wherever  England  has  a  place,  would 
astonish  us. 

"  The  schools  he  established  after  all  this  great  work  are  models  of 
organization  and  executive  ability.  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  they 
will  be  carried  on  as  a  memorial.  What  touched  me  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  Mr.  Moody  was  his  extreme  modesty  about  himself. 
He  was  the  most  masterly  man  I  ever  knew.  He  would  direct  and 
control  and  suggest  to  others  like  a  general.  We  all  know  how  that 
showed  at  his  great  gatherings.  But  when  it  carne  to  himself,  he  was 
the  most  modest  of  men.  I  was  privileged  to  be  in  the  house  with 
him  during  all  the  time  of  those  great  meetings  at  Madison  Square. 
I  never  heard  him  speak  of  himself.  You  would  not  know  he  had 
anything  to  do  with  those  great  gatherings.  On  one  occasion  he 
said  to  his  friends,  '  My  only  wonder  is  that  God  can  use  such  an 
instrument  as  I  am  to  do  such  work.'  " 

Dr.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler  paid  a  notable  tribute  at  this  meeting,  in 
which  he  said : 

"  The  most  extraordinary  gospel  preacher  that  America  has  pro- 
duced in  this  century  has  gone  up  to  his  resplendent  crown.  More 
than  to  any  other  man  was  the  privilege  accorded  to  Brother  Moody 
of  having  poured  the  Gospel  of  redeeming  love  into  more  human  ears 
and  more  human  hearts  than  any  man  in  modern  times.  Spurgeon, 
In  his  peerless  way,  preached  one  day  in  the  week ;  Moody  preached 
six  days,  and  in  one  week  reached  forty  to  fifty  thousand  souls. 

"  Our  dear  brother  was  more  endeared  to  us  because  he  was  such 
32 


576  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

a  thoroughly  typical  American.  He  tasted  of  the  soil,  and  on  his  gar- 
ments was  the  smell  of  the  New  England  fields  that  the  Lord  had 
blessed.  If  I  were  called  upon  to  name  the  two  most  thoroughly 
typical  Americans  of  the  nineteenth  century,  men  who  had  fought 
their  way  up  from  obscurity  to  wide  influence,  the  men  whom  our 
American  boys  should  be  taught  to  study  as  the  model  patriot  and 
the  preacher  of  righteousness,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  narrue  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  Dwight  L.  Moody.  When  the  nation's  life  was  to  be 
preserved  and  its  liberties  secured,  Almighty  God  called  a  poor  boy 
from  the  log  cabin  in  Kentucky,  cradled  him  on  the  rocks  of  hardship, 
gave  him  the  great  West  for  his  university,  and  then  anointed  him  to 
be  our  Moses  to  lead  us  through  a  sea  of  blood  to  a  Canaan  of  free- 
dom. In  like  manner  Almighty  God  called  the  farmer  boy  on  the 
banks  of  the  Connecticut,  gave  him  for  his  education  only  one  Book, 
filled  him  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  Jesus,  then  sent  him  out  as  the 
herald  of  salvation  until  Great  Britain  hung  on  his  lips. 

"  Lincoln  and  Moody  possessed  alike  the  gift  of  an  infallible  com- 
mon sense.  Neither  of  them  ever  committed  a  serious  mistake.  They 
were  alike  in  being  masters  of  the  simple,  strong  Saxon  speech,  the 
language  of  the  people  and  of  Bunyan,  the  language  that  is  equal 
to  the  loftiest  forensic  or  pulpit  eloquence.  Lincoln's  huge,  loving 
heart  gushed  out  in  sympathy  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
and  made  him  the  best  loved  man  in  America's  history.  And  Moody's 
big,  loving  heart,  fired  with  the  love  of  Jesus,  made  him  a  master  of 
pathos  that  touched  the  fount  of  tears  in  thousands  of  hearts,  and 
often  brought  weeping  multitudes  before  his  pulpit. 

"  Finally,  Lincoln,  the  liberator,  went  up  to  his  martyr  crown  car- 
rying four  millions  of  shattered  manacles  in  his  hands.  Moody,  the 
liberator  of  immortal  souls  from  the  fetters  of  sin,  fell  the  other  day  a 
martyr  to  overwhelming  work,  and  went  up  to  be  greeted  at  the 
gates  of  glory  by  thousands  whom  he  had  led  from  the  cross  to  the 
crown. 

"  And  now,  for  a  moment,  let  me  say— it  may  not  be  known  to  all 


Memorial  Services  ^j 

of  you — that  on  a  Sabbath,  shortly  before  our  brother  started  for  Kan- 
sas City,  he  delivered  his  last  sermon  in  New  York,  in  yonder  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.  In  that  discourse  I  think  the  pre- 
monitory shadow  was  already  falling.  He  uttered  this  wonderful 
sentence.  Said  "he :  '  You  may  read  in  the  papers  that  Moody  is 
dead.  It  will  not  be  so.  God  has  given  me  the  gift  of  the  life  ever- 
lasting.' Aye,  aye,  thanks  be  to  God,  Moody  is  living.  Moody  lives ; 
his  spirit  is  in  this  hall  to-day.  Methinks  I  hear  that  trumpet  voice 
calling  on  the  pastors  and  churches  of  New  York  to  seek  through 
this  Week  of  Prayer  a  baptism  of  fire  that  shall  kindle  this  city  and 
perhaps  set  the  nation  aflame." 

The  Rev.  David  J.  Burrell,  pastor  of  the  Marble  Collegiate  Re- 
formed Church,  said: 

"  I  met  Mr.  Moody  when  I  was  a  theological  student,  thirty-one 
years  ago,  in  Chicago.  I  was  a  boy,  rooming  up  above  old  Farwell 
Hall,  where  Mr.  Moody  preached,  and  his  apartments  were  just  below 
mine.  The  old  hall  burned  up.  The  fire  caught  in  the  early  morn- 
ing and  burned  slowly  through  the  forenoon.  We  tried  to  remove 
our  personal  effects  and  to  help  out  some  sick  people,  and  at  last  I 
found  my  way  out  into  the  street,  coatless  and  hatless ;  the  cordon  was 
round  about  in  front,  and  there  was  Mr.  Moody. 

"  It  was  now  near  noon.  He  had  under  his  arm  a  bundle  of  hand- 
bills, and  he  beckoned  to  me  and  said :  '  Take  these  and  distribute 
them  in  this  great  company.  Help  me  out.'  I  looked  at  the  bill: 
'  Our  beautiful  house  is  burned  up.  The  noon-day  meetings  will  be 
held,  as  usual,  in  the  Clark  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.' 
'  We  must  get  these  out,'  he  said. 

"  '  And  where  is  your  wife,  and  where  is  your  little  girl  ?  ' 

"  '  I  saw  them  safe.' 

"  '  Where  are  your  personal  effects  ?  ' 

"  '  Oh,  never  mind  them;  our  noon-day  meeting  must  go  on.' 

"  It  was  always  thus.  '  One  thing  I  do.'  He  has  left  that  thought 
with  me.  We  are  talking  about  his  memorial.  I  am  going  to  build 


57g  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

him  a  monument,  please  God,  in  my  own  ministerial  life.  I  am  going 
to  honor  his  memory  by  a  more  consuming  earnestness  in  doing  this 
one  thing." 

The  last  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  who 

said: 

"  Our  friend  died  when  he  was  most  desired — desired  to  maintain 
those  wondrous  Bible  conferences ;  desired  as  a  nucleus  of  undenom- 
inational activity;  desired  to  sustain  those  educational  institutions 
which  he  had  founded ;  desired  to  raise  up  more  workers  filled  with 
his  spirit;  desired  to  go  to  and  fro  through  the  country  to  awaken 
communities,  to  snap  the  chains  of  conventionalism,  to  elicit  and 
evoke  the  tremendous  latent  forces  of  the  church,  and  to  unite  Chris- 
tians in  the  only  way  in  which  they  can  ever  be  united — by  a  firm  and 
unswerving  belief  in  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Gospel  and  in 
active,  soul-saving,  consecrated  labor.  At  this  hour,  a  young  man, 
D.  L.  Moody  was  called  away. 

"  By  nature  God  endowed  Mr.  Moody  physically  in  an  astonishing 
manner.  There  was  a  man  in  Connecticut  who  adored  Mr.  Moody, 
and  he  invariably  amused  himself  when  sitting  in  the  cars  in  this  way : 
When  Mr.  Moody  came  in  he  would  say,  '  Do  you  know  him?  That 
is  Huntington,  the  greatest  railroad  man  in  this  country.'  Never  did 
he  hear  one  word  of  question  from  the  men  who  had  never  seen 
Huntington.  At  other  times  he  would  suggest  he  was  a  Western 
judge.  In  every  case  every  man  seemed  to  think  it  exactly  right. 
They  saw  that  tremendous  head,  monster  chest,  prompt,  intense, 
direct  action,  a  man  obviously  born  to  command.  This  man  invaria- 
bly told  people  afterwards,  before  they  left  him,  '  No,  that's  not  Mr. 
Huntington ;  it  is  Mr.  Moody,'  and  their  curiosity  was  greatly  excited. 

"  Physically,  many  men  reminded  other  men  of  Mr.  Moody,  but  D. 
L.  Moody  never  reminded  men  of  another  man,  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term.  That  indefinable  personality  that  will  not  show  in  a 
photograph,  and  cannot  be  painted  in  oil,  was  in  Mr.  Moody. 

"  He  could  improve,  and  that  was  one  of  his  glories.    Two  hun- 


Memorial  Services  579 

dred  years  from  now  the  higher  critics  will  be  trying  to  prove  that 
there  were  two  Moodys,  and  they  will  do  it  by  getting  up,  word  by 
word  and  sentence  by  sentence,  the  language  that  Mr.  Moody  used 
when  he  began  in  Chicago.  They  will  make  a  parallel  of  these  with 
the  highly  improved  style  of  his  later  years.  Some  persons  say  Mr. 
Moody  was  not  a  cultivated  orator.  Note  that  passage  quoted  by 
Drummond;  observe  that  when  in  London  he  described  the  ascen- 
sion of  Elijah  several  Parliamentary  orators  rose  to  their  feet  and 
actually  looked  in  the  air,  after  the  ascending  prophet.  Take  his 
sublime  eulogy  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  delivered  in  this  house  less 
than  a  year  ago.  Not  far  from  yonder  box  sat  a  bishop  noted  for 
sound  judgment,  who  said:  '  That  is  a  piece  of  work  any  man  might 
be  proud  of.' 

"  Nearly  twenty-five  years  ago  the  gentleman  who  presides  to-day 
sat  on  the  platform  in  the  Hippodrome.  At  that  time  New  York 
beheld  an  emperor — an  emperor  of  a  great  territory,  which  is  to  be 
in  the  future  one  of  the  greatest  empires  of  the  world,  unless  it  be- 
comes permanently  republican.  I  refer  to  Dom  Pedro,  the  Emperor 
of  Brazil.  He  went  on  the  platform  and  took  the  seat  vacated  by 
Mr.  Dodge. 

"  Two-thirds  of  the  audience  knew  who  he  was,  but  the  man  of  the 
occasion  was  Mr.  Moody,  and  he  was  preaching  at  the  time.  What 
did  he  do?  Did  he  exhibit  the  fawning  and  obsequious  bow  that 
many  persons  make  when  the  President  appears,  or  even  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  ?  Mr.  Moody  never  referred  to  Dom  Pedro,  but  intro- 
duced in  the  midst  of  his  discourse  these  words :  '  What  will  you  do 
with  Jesus  ?  What  will  you  do  with  Jesus  ?  An  emperor  cannot  buy 
Heaven,  but  he  can  have  it  as  a  free  gift/  After  he  said  that  he 
paused,  and  Dom  Pedro  bowed  his  assent,  and  afterwards  remarked 
to  the  gentleman  who  wrote  the  account:  'That  is  a  man  to  be 
heard  and  believed/ 

"  Mr.  Moody  had  his  prejudices,  for  I  once  heard  him  declare  that 
he  would  own  fellowship  with  everybody  that  believed  himself  to  be 


5g0  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

a  sinner  and  trusted  in  Christ;  but,  said  he,  '  God  being  my  helper,  I 
will  never  own  fellowship  with  a  man  who  denies  the  deity  of  my  God 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  or  sneers  at  His  atonement' 

"  Moody  was  told  that  he  must  die.  What  then?  Oh,  the  bless- 
ing to  the  church  of  the  manner  of  his  death !  God  showed,  I  believe, 
in  a  peculiar  way  for  the  church  and  for  Him,  that  'Precious  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints. '  There  is  something 
worse  in  this  world  than  agnosticism,  something  worse  than  blank 
infidelity.  It  is  the  practical  effects  of  a  belief  that  we  cannot  be 
sure  of  the  future. 

"  There  were  those  in  the  time  of  Paul  who  said,  '  Let  us  eat,  drink, 
and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  we  die.'  Ah,  if  there  were  no  life  after- 
wards, I,  too,  would  drink  anything  that  would  make  me  oblivious  to 
my  doom.  But  listen ! 

"  '  /  heard  a  voice  from  Heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write :  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them.'1 " 

Among  those  who  spoke  briefly  of  their  friendship  for  Mr.  Moody, 
or  took  part  in  the  devotional  services,  were  the  Rev.  Drs.  Arthur  T. 
Pierson,  John  Balcom  Shaw,  Wilton  Merle  Smith,  A.  C.  Dixon,  and 
Messrs.  R.  Fulton  Cutting,  Ira  D.  Sankey  and  John  R.  Mott. 

It  was  fitting  that  the  Seminary's  special  memorial  of  Mr.  Moody 
should  be  at  the  first  chapel  service  held  after  the  funeral.  On  other 
opening  days  he  himself  had  been  the  welcome  speaker,  bringing 
some  stirring  message  for  the  new  term.  This  day  perhaps  the  si- 
lence that  replaced  the  living  voice  proved  as  powerful  an  appeal  as 
had  the  actual  words.  Brief  tributes  were  paid  by  the  Rev.  C.  I. 
Scofield,  John  Willis  Baer,  and  trustees  of  the  school.  The  closing 
moments  were  spent  in  a  consecration  service  led  by  Mr.  Baer,  who, 
after  a  warm  personal  tribute  to  Mr.  Moody,  invited  the  young 
women  to  enter  into  a  covenant  to  live  higher  lives.  Many  rose  in 
response  to  this  appeal,  and  later  fully  twenty-five  expressed,  by  ris- 


Memorial  Services  581 

ing,  their  desire  to  become  Christians.  It  was  keenly  felt  that  Mr. 
Moody's  interest  was  still  with  the  work  he  had  loved,  and  that  his 
presence  was  not  far  away. 

At  a  later  date  a  meeting  for  personal  testimony  was  held  by  the 
students.  One  who  was  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Moody  in  this 
work  gave  the  following  testimony : 

"  I  should  like  to  speak  especially  of  the  place  that  prayer  had  in  his 
life.  I  have  been  looking  through  some  of  his  letters  lately,  letters 
which  I  received  from  him  during  these  years  that  I  have  been  at 
Northfield,  and  there  is  scarcely  one  of  them  in  which  there  is  not 
some  mention  of  prayer.  Sometimes  he  wrote  asking  me  to  pray 
for  the  work  in  a  certain  city,  that  the  ground  might  be  ready  for  the 
seed ;  again  he  would  write  that  he  was  to  speak  upon  the  Atonement 
or  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  would  ask  me  to  pray  that  God  would 
make  it  real  to  the  people;  then  there  would  come  a  letter  saying 
that  the  work  was  deepening,  that  he  believed  it  was  in  answer  to 
prayer,  and  that  he  hoped  to  see  the  good  work  extend  over  the  land 
from  sea  to  sea. 

"  We  all  remember  how  he  used  to  come  up  to  chapel  the  morn- 
ing before  he  started  on  one  of  his  evangelistic  tours,  and  ask  us  to 
pray  for  him.  We  saw  then  his  humility  and  how  completely  he  de- 
pended upon  God.  God  was  very  real  to  him.  He  walked  with  God, 
and  so  did  not  have  to  turn  out  of  his  way  to  speak  to  Him.  I  have 
been  driving  with  him  off  on  some  retired  road  about  Northfield. 
We  would  be  talking  together,  when,  suddenly,  he  would  pause  for  a 
moment  and  speak  to  God  just  as  naturally  as  he  would  speak  to  his 
friend. 

"  When  we  teachers  have  been  invited  to  his  home  of  an  evening 
we  have  begun  by  telling  amusing  stories;  and,  as  you  know,  no  one 
enjoyed  hearing  or  telling  a  good  story  more  than  Mr.  Moody.  The 
conversation  might  drift  into  a  talk  about  the  needs  of  the  country 
town  or  of  the  outlying  districts  of  our  own  town,  and  our  evening 
would  end  with  prayer. 


582  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

"  Last  summer,  during  the  August  Conference,  I  was  at  his  home 
one  afternoon,  and  he  said  to  me :  '  The  sweetest  thing  has  come  to 
me  to-day.  I  was  feeling  somewhat  troubled  this  morning  because 
the  Seminary  accounts  were  behind,  and  we  needed  a  good  deal  of 
money  to  pay  up  the  bills.  I  didn't  see  how  I  could  do  anything 
about  raising  the  money,  now,  with  this  conference  upon  my  hands, 
so  I  just  committed  the  matter  to  the  Lord.  This  afternoon,  while  I 
was  driving  a  lady  over  to  Mount  Hermon,  she  said  to  me,  "  Mr. 
Moody,  I  have  decided  to  give  you  $10,000  to  use  for  your  school, 
just  as  you  like,"  and,  instead  of  waiting  till  some  future  time  to  give 
me  the  money,  as  I  thought  she  might,  she  has  already  given  me  the 
check  for  this  sum,  which  is  just  what  I  had  in  mind  as  necessary  to 
meet  the  present  needs  of  the  Seminary.  It  brings  the  Lord  so 
near.' 

"  Certainly  all  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  was  begun  and  continued  and 
ended  in  prayer,  and  as  I  have  thought  of  this  work  which  he  has 
left  us  to  do,  I  realize  how  much  we  need  to  learn  this  lesson  of  prayer, 
and  I  pray  that  God  may  pour  upon  us  'the  spirit  of  grace  and  of 
supplication'  " 

The  keynote  of  the  memorial  service  at  Mount  Hermon,  held  in 

the  new  chapel  that  was  presented  to  the  school  on  the  sixtieth  an- 
niversary of  Mr.  Moody's  birth  by  Christian  friends  in  Great  Britain 
and  America,  was  "  The  Power  of  an  Endless  Life."  In  response  to 
the  invitation  to  let  this  power  rule  forever  in  their  lives,  nearly  the 
whole  school  arose.  This  was  but  one  instance  of  the  work  he  directly 
accomplished  after  his  death  in  the  body.  And  who  can  doubt  that, 
indirectly,  that  work  has  never  stopped  ? 


CHAPTER    XLVIII 
TRIBUTES  FROM  ENGLISH  FRIENDS 

VOLUMES,  many  and  large,  would  be  required  to  reproduce 
the  tributes  that  have  been  received  from  sympathetic  friends. 
Two  only  are  here  presented;  and  these  from  close  associates 
of  later  years  who  were  peculiarly  near  to  Mr.  Moody. 

BY    REV.    F.    B.    MEYER 

"  D.  L.  Moody  always  reminded  me  of  a  mountain,  whose  abrupt 
bold  front,  scarred  and  furrowed  with  storm,  forbids  the  tourist.  Yet 
soft  valleys  nestle  in  its  mighty  embrace,  and  verdant  pastures  are 
watered  by  the  waters  that  furrow  the  summit.  He  was  preeminently 
a  strong  man.  His  chosen  friends  were  men.  He  was  happiest 
when  giving  his  famous  address  on  '  Sowing  and  Reaping '  to  an 
audience  of  men  only.  Strong  natures  were  strongly  influenced  by 
him.  If  a  number  of  his  friends  were  together,  their  conversation 
would  almost  inevitably  turn  on  Moody ;  and  if  he  entered  any  group, 
he  would  at  once  become  its  centre,  to  whom  all  thoughts  and  words 
would  turn.  All  who  knew  him  intimately  gave  him  reverence  as  an 
uncrowned  king,  though  his  crown,  like  that  of  the  Huns,  was  of  iron. 

"  Nothing  short  of  an  indomitable  resolution  and  will-power  could 
have  conducted  the  uncultured,  uneducated  lad  from  the  old  shanty 
in  Chicago  to  the  Opera  House  in  London,  where  royalty  waited  on 
his  words — rugged,  terse,  full  of  mother  wit,  direct  and  sharp  as  a 
two-edged  sword.  For  as  the  man  was,  so  he  spoke.  Alone,  except 
for  the  help  of  God;  unlearned,  except  for  what  he  gained  from  his 


584  The  Lite  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

incessant  study  of  Scripture  and  ceaseless  observation  of  character; 
unassisted  by  those  adventitious  circumstances  of  prepossessing  ap- 
pearance, musical  speech,  and  college  education,  on  which  others 
have  climbed  to  prominence  and  power,  he  made  his  way  forward  to 
the  front  rank  of  his  time,  and  became  one  of  the  strongest  religious 
factors  of  the  world. 

"  The  charm  of  his  character  was  his  thorough  naturalness.  Per- 
haps it  was  this  that  carried  him  so  triumphantly  through  his  career. 
That  a  matter  had  always  been  dealt  with  in  a  certain  way  was  no 
reason  why  he  should  follow  the  beaten  track.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
a  reason  for  striking  out  in  some  novel  and  unconventional  method. 
He  was  perfectly  unmoved  by  the  quotation  of  established  precedent, 
utterly  indifferent  to  the  question  as  to  whether  the  course  he  pro- 
posed would  bring  praise  or  blame.  When  he  had  mastered  all  the 
difficulties  of  a  problem,  he  would  set  himself  to  its  solution  by  the 
exercise  of  his  own  sanctified  tact  and  common  sense.  There  was  no 
limit  to  his  inventiveness,  to  his  rapid  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  of 
a  situation,  or  to  his  naive  solutions.  I  have  often  compared  his  method 
of  handling  a  perplexity  with  his  driving,  for  he  always  went  straight 
before  him,  over  hedges  and  mounds,  up  hillsides,  through  streams, 
down  dikes,  over  ploughed  fields.  The  last  day  I  was  with  him  at 
Northfield  he  drove  me  from  the  Conference  Hall  over  ground  so 
irregular  and  uneven  that  every  moment  I  expected  we  should  be 
overturned.  But  we  came  out  all  right  at  the  gate  we  wanted,  and  it 
was  certainly  the  shortest  cut.  So  it  was  always  with  him.  If  he 
could  not  untie  knots,  he  would  cut  them. 

"  At  the  same  time  he  was  absolutely  simple  and  humble.  In  all 
the  numberless  hours  I  have  spent  with  him  he  never  once  manifested 
the  least  sign  of  affectation,  never  drew  attention  to  himself,  never 
alluded  to  the  vast  numbers  that  had  attended  his  meetings,  the  dis- 
tinguished persons  who  had  confided  their  secrets  to  him,  or  the 
enterprises  which  had  originated  in  his  suggestion  or  been  cradled 
under  his  care.  It  seemed  as  though  he  had  never  heard  of  D.  L. 


Tributes  from  English  Friends  585 

Moody,  and  knew  less  of  his  doings  than  the  most  ordinary  reader 
of  the  daily  press.  Not  unfrequently  I  said  to  myself,  when  in  his 
company,  Is  this  the  man  who  can  gather,  and  hold,  ten  thousand 
people,  by  the  month,  in  any  of  the  great  cities  of  the  world  ? 

"  There  was  an  appearance  of  abruptness  in  his  manner,  which  was 
undoubtedly  assumed  as  a  protection  of  a  very  tender  and  sensitive 
spirit,  much  as  oysters  will  form  for  themselves  strong  shells  against 
the  fret  of  the  waves  and  rocks.  He  had  seen  others  carried  away 
by  the  adulation  of  their  admirers  and  weakened  by  the  soft  caress 
of  the  world;  he  knew  that  the  personal  element  is  apt  to  intrude 
between  the  speaker  and  the  interests  of  those  whom  he  would 
fain  save  for  Christ's  sake;  he  was  absolutely  determined  that 
people  should  not  rest  on  him,  but  on  the  Word  of  God,  to  which  he 
was  ever  pointing  them,  and  he  therefore  incased  himself  in  the  hard 
shell  of  an  apparently  rugged  and  uncouth  manner.  It  was  only 
when  the  crowds  had  gone,  and  he  was  able  to  reveal  himself  without 
risk  of  being  misunderstood,  that  he  cast  away  his  reserve  and  re- 
vealed his  true  and  tender  self. 

"  If  it  be  asked  what  was  the  secret  of  that  power  which,  in  England 
and  his  own  country,  would  hold  in  rapt  attention,  for  months,  ten  or 
fifteen  thousand  people,  the  answer  must  certainly  be  found  in  the 
tenderness  and  compassion  of  his  nature.  That  he  could  tell  a  good 
story,  call  forth  ripples  of  laughter  by  the  touch  of  quaint  humor, 
narrate  Bible  stories  as  though  he  were  personally  acquainted  with 
the  actors  or  had  witnessed  the  occurrence  in  his  travels,  were  as  the 
small  dust  of  the  balance,  compared  to  the  pathos  which  trembled  in 
his  voice  and  moved  vast  audiences  to  tears.  His  power  was  that  of 
the  heart  rather  than  of  the  head.  Whilst  he  was  speaking  his  hand 
was  on  the  pulse,  he  was  counting  heart-throbs,  and  touching  those 
deep  elemental  emotions  of  the  heart  which  cluster  about  mother, 
father,  home  bereavement,  Heaven. 

"  He  was  more  thoughtful  for  others  than  any  man  I  have  ever 
known.  How  often  have  the  meetings  in  Northfield  been  inter- 


586  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

rupted  because  some  shabbily  dressed  person  hadn't  a  seat !  How 
many  times  all  the  comforts  of  his  home  have  been  freely  offered 
to  some  sick  or  friendless  student !  Whatever  trouble  befell  any  one 
in  the  town  of  Northfield  seemed  to  be  Mr.  Moody's;  and  his  well- 
known  buggy  would  be  seen  making  its  way  to  the  home  of  bereave- 
ment or  affliction  with  some  kindly  inquiry  or  alleviation.  It  was 
because  of  acts  of  this  kind  that,  when  his  mother  died  some  fire  years 
ago,  the  Roman  Catholic  element  in  the  community  asked  that  one 
of  their  number  might  lead  the  horses  that  bore  the  bier,  a  request 
which,  of  course,  was  readily  granted. 

"  The  most  pathetic  revelation  of  D.  L.  Moody  was  made  last 
August,  at  Northfield,  when  all  through  the  long  summer  days  his 
little  grandchild,  whom  he  loved  passionately,  was  dying.  Again  and 
again  he  asked  me  to  beg  the  people  not  to  express  their  sympathy 
when  they  met  him,  lest  it  should  break  him  down  altogether.  And 
how  the  strong  frame  would  sliake  with  convulsive  sobs  as  we  prayed 
that  her  life  might  be  spared !  God,  however,  knew  better,  and  took 
the  little  one  home  that  she  might  be  there  in  time  to  greet  the 
strong,  true  nature  that  loved  her  so  sincerely,  when  in  turn  His  ser- 
vant was  called  to  enter  his  reward. 

"  I  never  guessed  the  intensity  of  his  tenderness  till  I  saw  him  with 
his  grandchildren.  He  used  to  drive  them  about  in  his  carriage  or 
carry  them  in  his  arms.  One  of  the  most  striking  incidents  in  my 
memory  was  when  he  stood  with  them  beside  his  mother's  grave  in  a 
summer  sunset,  and  asked  us  to  pray  that  they  might  be  in  the 
coming  century  what  she  had  been  in  this.  And  when  little  Irene 
was  dying  he  used  to  be  on  the  watch  below  her  window  to  keep 
all  quiet,  would  steal  down  from  the  meetings  to  hear  the  latest  news, 
would  be  the  nurse  and  playmate  of  her  little  cousin,  that  all  might 
devote  themselves  to  the  chamber  of  sickness.  So  touched  because 
a  little  child  had  sent  the  invalid  a  pet  lamb !  How  moved  he  was 
as  we  saw  it  together ! 

"  He  was  a  great  Christian  strategist,  and  never  so  happy  as  when 


Tributes  from  English  Friends  587 

organizing  some  great  campaign,  like  that  during  the  World's  Fair 
at  Chicago,  when  he  occupied  the  largest  halls  in  that  city,  with  evan- 
gelists gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  world ;  or  when,  in  later  years,  he 
promoted  the  distribution  of  Bibles  and  the  holding  of  evangelistic 
meetings  among  the  American  soldiers  in  Cuba.  He  was  the  Von 
Moltke  of  the  religious  world  in  the  United  States.  He  would  lay 
plans  for  a  winter's  campaign  in  such  a  city  as  New  York  or  Boston, 
would  engage  some  large  central  building,  and  hold  two  or  three 
meetings  a  day,  interesting  reporters  and  gaining  the  attention  of  the 
press,  working  out  presently  into  new  quarters  of  the  city,  until  the 
whole  community  had  felt  the  impact  of  the  religious  momentum 
communicated  through  him.  Ministers  would  open  their  churches 
and  respond  to  his  appeals  for  help ;  lists  of  converts  would  be  fur- 
nished to  the  several  churches;  and  the  whole  campaign  would  be  so 
contrived  as  to  increase  the  zeal  and  activity  of  the  churches  that  had 
ranged  themselves  under  his  leadership. 

"  He  was  absolutely  fearless.  I  remember  one  occasion  when  he 
felt  it  laid  on  his  heart  to  speak  some  unpalatable  truths  to  a  number 
of  ministers  and  others.  Before  me,  as  I  write,  is  the  large  circle  that 
sat  around  his  spacious  dining-room  in  the  summer  evening,  the 
monument  of  ice-cream  which  he  carved  with  such  precision,  and 
then  the  direct,  unvarnished  words,  which  wounded  deeply,  that  a 
better  condition  of  soul-life  might  be  induced.  Whether  in  a  crowd 
or  with  an  individual,  he  never,  to  win  a  smile,  or  avoid  a  frown, 
swerved  a  hair's  breadth  from  what  he  thought  right. 

"  As  a  conversationalist  he  was  charming.  He  would  sit  on  the 
porch  of  his  unpretending  but  comfortable  house  overlooking  the 
lovely  landscape,  telling  story  after  story  of  marvellous  conversions. 
One  day,  for  instance,  a  gentleman  drove  up  as  we  were  talking,  and 
he  told  me  that  he  had  won  him  to  Christ  when  quite  a  lad  by  a  con- 
versation on  the  roof  of  a  Chicago  hotel,  that  being  the  only  quiet 
spot  he  could  find  for  his  purpose.  Or  he  would  recall  reminiscences 
of  men  whom  he  had  known.  He  had  a  great  fund  of  information 


5&8  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

about  agriculture,  had  travelled  widely  and  observed  shrewdly,  was 
in  keen  and  close  touch  with  the  great  religious  movements  of  the 
time,  and  was  specially  fond  of  asking  questions  of  any  one  who 
seemed  likely  to  communicate  reliable  information. 

"  His  was  a  triumphant  home-going,  and  as  the  story  of  it  has 
spread  from  land  to  land  it  has  stirred  thousands  of  hearts  to  a  deeper 
and  more  entire  consecration  to  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ.  His 
voice  is  hushed,  his  heart  has  ceased  to  beat,  he  has  left  a  great  void 
behind  him ;  but  he  has  already  entered  on  higher  service,  and  in  the 
foremost  ranks  of  the  sons  of  light  his  strong  and  noble  spirit  is  still 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  where  neither  weariness  nor  pain 
can  fetter  or  slacken  its  celestial  ardor.  I  count  it  almost  the  greatest 
privilege  of  my  life  to  have  known  him  so  well." 

BY    REV.    G.    CAMPBELL    MORGAN 

"  My  personal  acquaintance  with  Dwight  Lyman  Moody  was  not 
of  long  duration  according  to  the  measure  of  the  calendar,"  he  says. 
"  If,  however,  '  we  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs,'  then  I  may 
claim  to  have  known  him;  for  it  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  privileges 
of  my  life  to  have  come  very  near  to  him  in  the  ripest  years  of  his  life. 

"  I  first  saw  him  in  1883  during  his  second  visit  to  Birmingham. 
Bingley  Hall  was  being  crowded  daily  with  eager  crowds  who  had 
come  by  train  from  the  whole  surrounding  district.  Once  only  I 
spoke  to  him.  The  impression  of  those  days,  therefore,  is  that  of  the 
man  in  the  midst  of  the  rush  of  work.  No  detail  of  arrangement 
escaped  his  notice.  A  vacant  seat,  the  opening  and  closing  of  doors, 
a  tendency  to  drag  the  singing,  all  these  he  noted  and  rectified.  Yet 
he  was  by  no  means  a  man  who  cared  for  detail  for  detail's  sake.  The 
supreme  passion  of  his  life  was  the  winning  of  men  for  Christ,  and  no 
detail  was  insignificant  that  would  hinder  or  help. 

"  Two  pictures  of  those  old  days  are  deeply  engraved  on  the  tablets 
of  my  memory.  The  first  picture  is  that  of  Moody  as  a  prophet,  and 


Tributes  from  English  Friends  589 

the  vast  audience,  numbering  at  least  twenty  thousand,  were  hushed, 
subdued,  overawed.  Knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  he  persuaded 
men.  I  dare  affirm  that  thousands  of  people  stood  face  to  face  that 
evening  with  the  awfulness  of  their  own  sin,  startled  and  smitten. 
The  other  picture  is  that  of  Moody  coming  to  the  close  of  an  address 
on  the  King's  invitation  to  the  Marriage  Supper  of  the  Lamb.  The 
graciousness  of  that  invitation  had  possessed  him  that  night  with 
new  force,  the  deepest  fountains  of  his  nature  were  touched,  and  he 
stood  before  the  great  crowd,  moved  with  his  Master's  compassion, 
pleading  with  tender  urgency  and  fine  pathos,  a  strong  man  moved 
to  tears.  At  last  he  cried,  '  Let  those  who  will  accept  the  invitation 
say  "  I  will,"  '  and  from  every  part  of  the  hall  instantly,  immediately 
the  coy  of  a  multitude  went  up,  '  I  will.'  I  did  not  see  him  again  for 
thirteen  years,  but  through  them  all  the  force  of  his  character  had  an 
influence  on  my  life  that  I  should  find  it  hard  to  measure. 

"  In  1896  I  visited  the  United  States  for  the  first  time.  The  North- 
field  Conference  was  in  session,  and  I  managed  to  spend  a  few  hours 
there.  Arriving  late  at  night,  I  found  my  quarters  and  retired.  The 
next  day  was  a  field  day  for  me,  as  well  as  a  revelation.  Everywhere 
Mr.  Moody  was  the  moving  spirit.  Bright,  cheery,  and  yet  in  dead  ear- 
nest, he  seemed  to  make  everything  go  before  him.  In  the  interval 
of  the  meetings  he  gave  me  a  drive  round  the  campus  in  his  buggy. 
Every  point  of  interest  was  pointed  out,  and  in  a  few  brief  words  the 
story  of  how  the  different  buildings  were  erected  was  told.  Passing 
a  certain  house,  he  said,  '  People  sometimes  ask  me  how  I  found 
Northfield.  I  tell  them  it  found  me.  I  was  born  there.'  Suddenly  he 
pulled  up  his  horse  to  speak  to  a  group  of  children.  '  Have  you  had 
any  apples  to-day?  '  said  he.  '  No,  Mr.  Moody,'  they  replied.  '  Then 
go  down  to  my  house  and  tell  them  to  give  you  all  you  want/  Away 
they  went,  and  so  did  he,  both  happier.  Down  a  narrow  lane  he  drove 
next,  and  through  a  gate  to  where  a  man  was  at  work  in  a  field. 
'  Biglow,'  said  Mr.  Moody,  '  it's  too  hot  for  you  to  work  much;  half 
a  day's  work  for  a  day's  pay,  you  know,  while  this  heat  lasts.'  I  sat  by 


59o  The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody 

his  side  and  watched  and  began  to  understand  the  greatness  of  the 
man  whose  life  was  so  broad  that  it  touched  sympathetically  all  other 

phases  of  life. 

"  After  the  evening  meeting,  at  his  invitation  I  gathered  with  the 
speakers  at  his  house.  Then  for  the  first  time  I  saw  him  in  a  new 
role,  that  of  the  host.  He  sat  in  his  chair  at  the  head  of  the  table, 
directed  the  conversation,  and  listened  with  the  patience  and  sim- 
plicity of  a  child  to  every  word  that  others  spoke.  That  night  the 
talk  turned  on  the  most  serious  subjects,  the  inner  life  of  the  people 
of  God  and  its  bearing  on  the  work  of  the  churches  among  the  people. 
As  we  departed  I  went  to  bid  him  good-bye,  as  I  was  to  leave  by  an 
early  train  on  the  morrow.  '  Oh,'  said  he,  '  I  shall  see  you  in  the 
morning;  you  are  to  preach  at  ten  o'clock.'  That  was  my  first  notice. 
What  did  I  do?  I  preached  as  he  bid  me,  as  other  and  better  men 
have  ever  been  glad  to  do.  That  was  his  way.  After  speaking  next 
morning  I  hurried  away,  but  in  that  brief  stay  Moody  had  become 
more  to  me.  Strong,  tender,  considerate,  from  that  day  I  more  than 
revered  him — I  loved  him. 

"  I  look  upon  him  as  one  of  God's  choicest  gifts  to  the  church  and 
the  world  during  this  century  now  drawing  to  a  close.  His  value 
will  never  be  rightly  appreciated  here,  where  the  view  is  partial  and 
transient.  Yonder  in  the  perfect  light  we  shall  know.  To  some  of 
us  Heaven  is  more  to  be  desired  to-day  for  his  presence  there,  and 
earth  is  more  to  be  loved  for  the  great  love  he  lavished  upon  it.  Oh, 
the  gap!  Yet  he  would  not  have  us  dwell  upon  his  removal,  but 
upon  the  abiding  Presence  of  the  Lord  he  loved  and  served.  He  has 
entered  on  the  higher  service.  It  is  for  those  of  us  who  remain  to 
tighten  the  girdle  and  take  hold  afresh  on  the  work  of  God's  to-day. 
Presently  we  shall  meet  him  again  in  the  light  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lamb,  and  then  certainly  we  shall  love  him  more  than  ever. 


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